Scarlet tides
by S.B. Liky
Summary: In Earthland's golden age of sail there were always those who wanted more out of the life. They called themselves "opportunists" but they are better known as pirates. One such crew currently roams the seas on a ship named Dark Fairy, led by captain whose status is the among legendary ones. Their lives will soon take more interesting turn as King's finest begin chasing them.
1. All hands on deck!

**A/N: What madness drove me into writing this? The idea just popped inside my head and I had the story worked out one morning and realized if I do not move it out of my head and on the screen there is a chance I will never write it. Then came issue of chapters, will I have enough ideas, how will I workout timeline etc... but it kept piling one after another and I thought... sweet heavens this is gonna be a marathon. For those who find references, well good for you. Let me know what you think of the premise.**

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Loud thundering sound was heard and ship tilted from side to side, making captain accidentally move the quill over the parchment, ruining entire document. He was exhausted, head felt like thousand cannons decided to go all out at once, leaving him deprived of a much needed sleep. He closed his eyes, moving head from side to side to relieve himself from the pain that was slowly appearing on his neck. Cabin was not big but well lit from the morning sun, desk was in the mess with papers stacked and turned, half on wooden surface half on floor. The roar was heard again, three times one after another, sounded like cannons, his cannons. He stood up and took his navy blue coat, buttoning it up right to the collar. There is no room for him to look like a slob in front of the crew, he sets an example. Hat? No need for that now. He walked out of his cabin and closed doors behind and in that instant he lifted his hand to block out the morning sun that casted its full glory into his eyes. He took deep breath, closing eyes for a moment before opening them up again, the fierce piercing gaze was there now… one that separated him from the rest of his crew, one that made him opponent that few dared to face.

"Mister Dragneel!" he shouted as he walked down the wooden stairs, at the bottom pink haired young man saluted, wearing large, baggy white pants, belt made out of ragged cloth and bandana, ripped enough to show his wild, messy hair and for the shirt there was nothing but a black west. On his hip, hanging on the leather strap was his cutlass which he dubbed "Igneel", a magical sword that could summon fire at wielder's command even if submerged into the deepest parts of the sea… one would argue that he was the best image of a pirate. "Sound the bell, all hands on deck!" Captain ordered and Natsu obeyed, within no more than ten seconds since the sound of bell, ship became crowded. He walked by to port side, approaching rather large black man, skin covered in scars, wearing slightly torn green trousers and brown leather boots. Hanging on his belt was a dagger which he dubbed "Musica" yet another magical item that is known for extending itself to the size of wielder's strength and its owner was said to be able to make it large enough to cut mast in half. This particularly large man was the master gunner of the ship.

"Mister Lily, report!" Captain said standing beside. Lily turned and saluted.

"No good Cap'n, most of the cannons are busted, we are left with three working ones, I could probably salvage some and make two more."

"Make three more." Captain ordered leaving no room to argue before he moved to starboard side, people were running around him, busy as they tried to keep ship floating. There he found his quartermaster, large man in with blonde hair and remarkably neat clothes, similar to one that captain wore, white shirt, navy blue coat that he didn't button up but instead just wore over his shoulders… One could say he was standing out from the rest of the crew.

"Mister Dreyar, casualties?" He said and Laxus saluted and followed captain as he was moving to the stem of ship.

"Four men lost, including Simon and Ben. Rest of the crew is good, as good as it can be." He smirked but continued as captain made no effort to comment on it. "Morale is bad though… We've been sailin' for weeks, they need some rest and fresh food."

"Noted." Captain added before looking over the board and down at the ram. It was heavily damaged. Metal plating has been blown away, dangerously close to creating a hole in the hull. He wasn't pleased. "Where is miss McGarden?"

"Probably down with Gajeel." Laxus shrugged a bit.

"Mister Dragneel!" Captain shouted, loud and Natsu ran over to him "We are sitting ducks as it stands. I want you on nest before I finish this sentence!"

"Again? Captain…" Natsu groaned, looking up at the nest and down at him. Third time in a row this would be and Natsu was not the kind of guy who felt at ease standing so high.

"I am not asking mister Dragneel. I finished sentence a while ago and you are still here." Captain turned and looked at Natsu who took the hint… never question the captain and start climbing.

Captain turned and moved below deck, the skirmish has made quite the mess, few holes from the cannon fire, at least ten cannons either broke, melted or smashed beyond repair. His eyes wandered, trying to at least get some idea on overall damage but that was secondary task, first one was to spot two people he needed to see… and he saw them. Standing at far end was carpenter who was cutting plank that was to cover the hole, beside him was ship's 'reader'.

"Miss McGarden!" Captain shouted, moving toward the pair "I remember your job being to follow our position in this wretched world."

"Y…yes sir!" She quickly straightened up and saluted, nervously. Levy McGarden was the ship's reader, a unique position reserved for those who can read maps and determine position based on stars, sun and moon. Far from the fact that captain was bad at this but what made Levy stand above the rest was her magical item called "gale-glasses" an incredibly rare pair that allowed her to instantly find even the slightest hints and hidden messages on any map, letter or other written documents and even beyond that... she could see position of stars even in broad daylight and even read the weather and anticipate changes and upcoming storms. A highly prized artifact that takes decades to master... but not Levy, she only needed several years to utilize them to their full capacity.

"Well?" Captain asked.

"Right away!" she moved quickly by him, running up on the deck, leaving carpenter to sigh.

"Mister Redfox I believe you know my policy on ship romances." Captain turned to look at Gajeel. Remarkably large man that wore black sleeveless shirt and matching pants, riddled with nails and chains. He was in charge of general repairs on the ship and what made him such great carpenter was his hammer. Similar in nature to Lily's Musica, it had the ability to extend itself from being pocket size right up to two meters in length with head easily reaching 30 kilos. With it he could hammer a nail with a single strike where others would take no less than five. Fast and efficient, captain always kept him up and running… well much to Gajeel's annoyance.

"It wasn't like tha' cap'n" he grunted, picking up the plank and placing it on the hole, measuring to see if it would fit. "She was just keepin' me company."

"She can keep you company when we find port, right now I'm trying to keep my boat floating. How long until you finish repairs?"

"At this rate? Probably a day… maybe day an' a half."

"You have six hours."

"Six hours?" Gajeel looked at him with wide eyes, almost swallowing one of the nails he kept between his lips "Tha' is bloody impossible!"

"Well if you keep trying to flirt with my reader it will be. Six hours!" Captain turned, leaving Gajeel to grunt yet again in annoyance but it was not kind word and holding hand that kept this ship running. Captain climbed up and looked around, there was water as far as eye can see and only toward port side there was some resemblance of a land, volcanic but it was good start.

"Mister Fullbuster!" He shouted loud and half naked sailor approached, saluting. Though he usually was dressed similarly to Natsu the tendency for him to lose clothes during worst of times was not something that made captain chuckle, but he was one of the rare who could easily keep his cool regardless of situation. That being said he didn't earn his place on ship just because he could think straight, no, it was his particular choice of weapons which included two daggers, hanging on each side of his belt and both were capable of instantly freezing whatever they cut. Of course for him to freeze entire man he would need to keep the blade up against him for longer time, but there was no doubt that in close combat he was dangerous opponent. His regular work was boatswain which was something he never had difficulty doing but he felt that his responsibility was about to increase.

"We lost mister Volt, which means you'll be taking over his responsibilities of ship's logistics. Make a list of what we have, what we are lacking and deliver by noon."

"Yes, sir!" Gray responded, slightly annoyed as he heard particular yell coming from above.

"Why does he get to do that and I have to be stuck on this cursed place?!" Natsu yelled, holding tight onto the wooden fence of crow's nest, feeling nausea slowly reaching him.

"Because I don't screw up at my work, that's why!" Gray's 'cool' was severely shaken, a thing only Natsu knew how to do.

"Mister Fullbuter, list! Mister Dragneel! I don't remember telling you to laze around! Eyes on horizon!" Capyain shouted looking up.

"Oh come on it's not like they are gonna sneak up on us! There is no ship in sight!" He yelled, yelping as he almost fell over from the nest.

"I take it that you have forgotten our encounter with H.M.S. Thunderbolt last month?"

"No sir…" Natsu yelled in less annoyed tone.

"Then eyes on horizon!" He waved head and moved to his cabin. As he entered Levy was already there, studying the map. He unbuttoned first two buttons on his coat and moved to other side of the desk, she already had her glasses on and looking between map and several papers including one lacrima that projected a small screen.

"What do you have?" he asked, moving finger in his collar to loosen it up. At that moment, he heard doors knock and open, it was Laxus who nodded at him and closed doors behind him as he entered. He approached the desk and stood beside Levy.

At this point I believe it is good time to tell you a little bit about the land. The world of Earthland, divided into large nations, is a world filled with magic, coming from every stone, every grass, every river and forest and it was humans who mastered the art of wielding magic through the items they call mediums. These mediums are vary, ranging from ones used for mundane life to specialized complex lacrima crystals used for irrigation, repairs, travel, tools of war and in some cases even healing… the use of these is as endless as magic itself. Those who can create these magical items are called magi-smiths and their job is to collect and imbue it into these objects to be used for daily life but some smiths are far beyond the skill needed for simple crafting and they are able to create powerful items called 'artifacts'. These items are unique and rare and can utilize magical essence to create powerful spells. Of course, not every artifact is same, some are more useful as instrument to find hidden objects, see for hundreds of kilometers as if it was just before them, some are far more practical like ones that could alter the wind and clouds. Ship's reader Levy McGarden is an excellent example of such items. Other artifacts are made as offensive weapons that can tear through hull of any ship in an instant. Obtaining one of these artifacts is without a doubt an exceptionally difficult task and many collectors will pay large sum of jewels for them… But should one decide to keep it and utilize it to its full capacity, it can make a legend out of a man.

At the very center of this world is the kingdom of Fiore, a large peninsula that is known for its imperial navy that rivaled one of Minstrel. This kingdom is ruled by King Toma E. Fiore but the true power lies in his Grand Council of Twelve. This council is divided into three subcouncils. Council of Land is in charge of improving cities and countryside alike, finding ways to utilize magic and increase efficiency of farming, fishing and construction. Second is Council of Gold, a council that overlooks finance of every city, town and village, they are in charge of issuing jewels and ensuring that its value never becomes too strong or too weak. Final is the Council of War, composed of two generals and two admirals of highest rank, it is their job to protect the land from any kind of threat, foreign or domestic.

The system, though perfect in theory, was far from it and there were always flaws that would upset the balance in the land… and every land has its dark side. This would be the "freedom-seekers" how they called themselves but in reality, they were going by the different name. Pirates. Individuals and groups that wanted better life for themselves. Some were drawn by the freedom to sail the seas, others by the promise of fortune and some… well let's just say some became disillusioned with what they thought was going on. One of them was currently in his cabin looking over the large parchment.

"We are at least 300 kilometers from Haregon." Levy said, still looking at map. "From what I can tell we are here…" she pointed on map and both men looked, her finger was pressed on the start volcanic island chain, not populated due to it being impossible to maintain any settlement… Volcano was active and from time to time it would erupt and produce titanic amounts of ash… it made land fertile but not popular spot to settle.

"We can dock in Iris." Laxus moved finger, pointing beyond the chain of islands. "it's closer, we can get supplies, repair the ship and move on."

"I will not land in king's port unless I absolutely have to…" Captain added.

"Well we are then out of options…" Laxus sighed scratching back of his head.

"Not if we- "captain started but was interrupted by abrupt open of his door.

"Captain you have to see this!" Natsu shouted from the top of his lungs, giving good scare to Levy while Laxus pinched bridge of his nose. Captain on the other hand was struggling, on one hand he knew he was able sailor, on the other there was sweet temptation to throw him overboard. Man had no sense of decency or understanding the term of "chain of command".

"Natsu if you barge in like that one more time I swear I will throw you to the sharks that I will personally import for that occasion!" Captain shouted, feeling twitch in his left eye. "And why are you not on nest?!"

"Oh, was I interrupting?" He looked confused as Levy smiled nervously and Laxus threw his head back.

"No point in arguing anymore." Captain made his way outside of the cabin, followed closely by Natsu who extended his hand and in it was a single lacrima crystal. He took it from Natsu and gently pressed top of it, letting a small screen-like hologram appear. His eyes widened at what he saw, having names and images of himself and his crew, listed one under another and beside each name was a number.

"Well our lives just got a bit more interesting." Captain said, smirking a bit. "We are now officially kingdom's annoyance."

"What is it, captain?" quartermaster approached, standing by him and looking at the crystal's screen.

"Bounty, or rather warrant for our capture. Reward is 100 000 jewels for capturing me and 50 000 for each of you. Dead or alive for you, and as for me… alive only. Congratulations gentlemen." Captain said.

* * *

24 hours prior to these events in capital city of Crocus...

Hall was long, built to make people understand the gravity of place they were in. Floor and walls made out of marble, painted by finest of artists in land and at the end of it laid heavy doors of solid wood. It was a silent place, hall at very least, but that silence was interrupted by two pair of feet that clicked with each step. Both of the owners of these lovely feet had their uniforms on, coats colored with finest royal blue color, black trousers and leather boots reaching up to knees while on hands they had white gloves. With quick steps they reached the door and knocked twice before entering. They found themselves in the main office of the Council of War. Pair saluted and approached to the rather large brown wooden table. Four chairs had four councilors at far end of this table. From left to right there was Councilor Leiji, Councilor Crawford, Councilor Doma and Councilor Org. Their faces were not pleased but then again their job was not to be pleased.

Councilor Crawford was firs to speak "Captain Erza Scarlet and quartermaster Lucy Heartfilia of the H.M.S. Titania."

"Reporting for duty!" Erza said in strict, sound tone.

"Our reports say that your ship has been docked for two months, is this report correct?" Leiji asked.

"Two months, one week and four days." Erza continued.

"Your own records are flawless as well." Doma said in louder tone. "You rose quickly to the rank of Captain and of course no one can deny the success of Titania."

"Thank you, sir!" Erza still kept her rigid pose, she had plenty of questions to ask but it was not for her to do so. Lucy in the meantime kept her stance and said nothing, if Erza's place is to not ask questions then she had even less right to do so.

"One might argue that you are strongest candidate to take over the seat of admiral, once admiral Zen retires of course which should be in two years, assuming he doesn't fall in line of duty." Doma continued.

Erza knew this of course, her 'competition' was composed of captains that got ships based on their noble status. Right amount of jewels slipped in right pocket can do much to secure one's promotion… In Erza's case there was no one to pay for her nor to secure promotion, her status was achieved by her deeds alone, swift and brutal execution of plans and unrivaled strategies... She is without a doubt one among most respected officers in Royal Navy and no one dared to question her abilities.

"Of course, kingdom always needs loyal and capable officers taking the helm behind our navy. There might be something we can do to… hmmm… push you up a bit and ensure your promotion."

This got Erza suspicious, she never had help before and suddenly Council of War is taking an interest in her? Lucy's eyebrows rose up as she was listening this.

"We are assigning you and your crew to a special task, one suitable to your skills. You are to find, capture or sink the ship named _Dark Fairy_ and take its captain as prisoner. The crew will be left to your decision."

"You are assigning Titania to go chase some pirate?" Erza questioned, there was defiance and annoyance in her tone. Not largest but it was certainly finest ship of the line, heavily modified through years of Erza's command, sacrificing some of the firepower for speed and maneuverability … there was none like it and in right hands it was nearly unsinkable. This ship, that was the spear-point of His Majesty's Navy, was to chase down a lowlife? Erza sure as hell considered this to be an insult to Titania.

"Not just any pirate." Org pushed paper slowly on the wooden surface of the table and tapped twice with finger on it. Lucy went around the table and took the paper before returning to Erza. "That man."

"Admiral Jellal Fernandes…" Lucy spoke out loud but was interrupted by councilor Doma "Former admiral…" Lucy nodded and continued " 'Former' admiral Jellal Fernandes, drafted at age of fourteen, rose to Captain position at age of eighteen, held helm at H.M.S. Oathkeeper for seven years, decorated with three Stars of Courage, two Golden Thunders, three Ruby Crosses, four… oh my…" Lucy looked up at Council completely shocked "Four decorations from his Majesty the King himself …" Council merely nodded "Rose to rank of admiral at age of twenty two, forty six naval naval battles, forty six victories, veteran of the Red Reef war, sole surviving ship at battle of Echydna rock… We are hunting down a hero?"

"Legend is better term. Keep reading." Erza said, keeping her steel gaze forward as she listened.

"Defected thirteen months ago with several high ranking officers of his ship. Currently operating with new crew on ship named Dark Fairy, brig class ship, eighteen cannons, consists no less than twenty crew members. Twelve raids in last five months, merchant cogs, broken supply lines, sunk four Royal Navy ships, three brigs and heavily damaged one man-o-war?" Lucy gasped as list went on about this man "He took over man-o-war with a brig?"

"H.M.S. Thunderbolt. Boarded the ship under the cover of fog… it was over before they knew what hit them. Half crew members dead, rest were left in sufficient state to sail the ship back to port… not before he raided every compartment. You will find extensive document about him prepared and sent to your ship, Captain Scarlet. Your job is to take him and bring him back. As for his crew… as mentioned it is entirely up to your decision." Crawford spoke in soft words, smiling at captain and quartermaster. The pair just saluted and left the room, making quick pace back through same long hall.

"This is no easy task… I never expected Admiral Fernandes to defect…" Lucy spoke, following Erza's pace.

"You know him?"

"I know of him. He was naval hero, said to be one to wield Heaven's Rapier, artifact of immense power that is said to be able to bring down the skies... in his service he only had to draw it twice from scabbard. He achieved total victory against all odds..."

"That was when he was admiral, now he is nothing more than a pirate." Erza said in calm voice "What is the status Titania's crew?"

"Ten honorable discharges, forty-eight transfers. We have forty from original crew, ready to sail."

"Find ten more and we'll set sail by the end of week."

"Ummm… Captain?" Lucy looked at her with wide eyes, shocked. "We will go with just fifty?"

"This will not be difficult task to accomplish."

"Yeah but haven't you heard what he did during his service in Royal Navy? Plus that sword of his… I am not sure if it's wise to charge against him unless we are in full effect."

"He was best because he commanded the best, H.M.S. Oathkeeper is exceptional ship of the line but it is nothing compared to Titania. As for his artifact, have you forgotten one of mine?" Erza patted handle of her cutlass that was hanging by her belt.

"Of course not Captain!" Lucy spoke in higher tone, more respectful as they continued to walk down the hall.

* * *

"Why are you the only one to be brought alive and we get to be dead?" Natsu asked, lifting his eyebrow.

"Because they want everyone to see him hang." Gray answered Natsu's questions even though it was directed to captain.

"Well, we will have fun month…" Jellal spoke as he watched lacrima, a few more moments and he switched it off. "We are going to be popular target for bounty hunters… and we need more guns."

"Orders, captain?" Laxus asked.

"We sail for Haregon, only port that won't hang us on the sight and we need decent repairs and supplies." Jellal crossed arms and began calculating, he was silent and since he was silent, everyone else was silent as well. "We don't have much choice, mister Dreyar, helm is yours."

"Aye aye sir!" Laxus saluted with a grin "Alright lads, all hands on deck, man on your stations! Full sails, get all cannons to port side! Mister Lily, on the double with the salvage, mister Dragneel on the nest, mister Redfox, make those repairs as we move, get five more men to help you get water out of the hull!"

Jellal moved up the stairs and looked at the deck one more time. _Damn pirates_ , he smiled for himself _every single one of them_. As he entered his cabin and closed, there was a long sigh... he was finally alone. Fingers reached up and unbuttoned his coat that he hanged on the wooden wall behind his desk before sitting down on his chair. The pain in the neck returned and he felt his exhaustion was catching up faster than he thought it would. Maybe if he closes eyes for five minutes ship won't blow up.

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 **A/N: I had this temptation to make this a one shot, you know, pirate captain, royal navy captain, battle and gaze at eachother, Jellal and Erza, Lucy and Natsu, maybe few more if I fit their backstories well... You know how it goes, love at first sight but then I thought... Naaaaah I am gonna pit them against each other to the point wanting to spill guts. They are gonna try that you can count on it... BUT... not gonna spoil it for you. I am extremely excited about writing this story and by all means wait for next chapter to see what happens, which, judging by my motivation lately, you won't have to wait long.**

 **Small side note and I am gonna be hated for this, if you wonder how I envisioned Panther Lily as human... Adewale from Black Flag. I will say no more.**


	2. Bring her to full effect!

**A/N: I had a little bit of conflict. On one hand I wanted to plunge the story immediately into action but then I would have to make introduction to the crew as story progresses or I could do that now, make the setting, introduce you to characters and then start with fun stuff. I know this is going to be a little boring but in my little crazy head I find it that when facing a story that could stretch out for long time... I need to make time for my characters. So, please endure this one more chapter and on next one... I promise fun stuff happening. I also know some of you can't wait for some of the pairing to meet, their interaction to happen and that will happen too, in fact I plan to make every character with their stories in later chapters, why they are who they are now, what were their pasts, how will that reflect on their decisions... I didn't lie when I said this is going to be marathon, I have big plans but as you probably know, if you have read my stories, with these kind of stories I prefer to be thorough, to immerse you into this magical world. There will be no lack of action and no lack of adventure and no lack of good heart-warming stuff in some chapters. That much I promise you.**

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Twenty four hours passed since orders have been issued and captain Erza has finally received report that ten men have been found to be added to her crew. Of course, she wasn't pleased with the fact that she had so many transfers from her ship, half were sent other ships but that was not for them to be blamed for it was beyond their or captain Erza's saying. Getting new crew up to speed is something she disliked and that was mostly due to the fact that her orders were always precise and every step of the way was to be executed with surgical precision. Nothing less than absolute best was expected from them.

Day was slowly reaching noon and she was sitting, rather comfortably on her chair in ship's cabin, legs crossed, leaned back and with several papers in her hand… the documents councilmen mentioned. If she is to hunt down former admiral she had to know everything about him, his records, crewmembers, likes, dislikes, strategies even his own logs that were kept as top secret were revealed to her. Lucy was right, this will not be an easy task.

Her eyes looked up as she heard knock on her door, followed by the same door being opened and blonde quartermaster entered, saluting captain.

"Captain, transfer papers have arrived, ready for your inspection." Lucy said and lowered her hand from salute before approaching and placing small stack of papers on her desk, right in front of Erza. Captain took the papers and looked through, and took three from the stack, placing aside. At first Lucy didn't understood reason for this separation, but then again it was not hers to question.

Erza stood up and took her hat before leaving cabin, having Lucy follow her closely behind. Two lines of men and women, formed one to face another, leaving room in the middle for captain to pass through.

Erza shouted "Following crewmen step forth! Elfman Strauss, Freed Justine, Alzack Connell!" and no more than second after all three of them stepped forth. Erza moved toward first one, towering above everyone else, uniform properly maintained and fingerless gloves on his hands.

"Lieutenant Elfman Strauss, His Majesty's Royal Navy, ma'am!" He saluted as she approached, despite him being way taller than Erza he dared not look down at her, instead his eyes were fixed forward.

She briefly looked at first of three papers in her left hand and spoke "What is Mirajane Strauss to you, lieutenant?"

"Sister, ma'am!"

"I know her, and your father. Why did you want to join H.M.S. Titania?" She asked, looking up but he still didn't look down.

"Family tradition, proud to serve!"

Stern and loyal, just the way she liked it. Those who take up arms and serve King and country were always considered as highly honorable men in her book and she never hid this fact, although by his size and combat specialty she still thought he would be much better option as land solider rather than crewman but she didn't object and instead she moved on, standing in front of second man.

"Reader Freed Justine, His Majesty's Royal Navy, ma'am!"

"I thought as much…" Erza said looking down at different paper, this one was Freed's records "Our previous reader was one of the best, you will have big shoes to fill Mister Justine."

"Proud to serve, ma'am!" he just said and kept looking forward until she reached third and final named crewman.

He saluted and spoke "Master of Arms Alzack Connell, His Majesty's Royal Navy, ma'am!"

"Your record is clean, our Master of Arms was transferred so you will be filling in her position, I expect you to perform to your best of abilities, no less."

"Proud to serve, ma'am!" He spoke in higher tone and she moved on to the very end of the line. Lucy was quick to follow but she couldn't understand why she picked three of them to step forward. Why not call up all the names of transferred crewmen? As they turned to face both lines, Erza gave Lucy papers and placed her hands behind her back. Quartermaster glanced down on the papers and it was clear to her why Erza called them forth… All three of them are served on H.M.S. Oathkeeper.

"Listen up, we have been issued a simple task! We are to find and capture defected admiral Jellal Fernandes!" As she finished she could see few heads turn, silent but she could read their thoughts by the very reaction they displayed at the mention of the name, and that name drawn attention.

"One year ago he abandoned his post along with two officers, Lieutenant Laxus Dreyar and Lieutenant Gray Fullbuster! I understand that there are those among you who served under him, he saved many lives and probably some of those are here and now. I will only say this once! If there is anyone among you who does not feel up for the task, step forth and leave the ship. Once we set sail you will do your duty, failure will result in immediate court martial!"

She looked to the left then to right line, there was no one who stepped forth, no one who made a sound… it was the silent obedience that could be heard on the deck. Of course some would object silently but military training was simple. Treason and desertion are never to be overlooked and their admiral did both. Whatever allegiance existed before had to be dropped… after all they have sworn an oath. Small grin formed on edges of Erza's lips as she looked from left to right, glancing to every crewmen. "We sail out immediately to find him and bring him back to capital city, he will be placed before High Court to be trialed and eventually executed. Am I clear?!"

"Yes, Captain!" everyone shouted in unison.

"Chain of command here is simple! You all answer to me while on the ship! In my absence you will answer to quartermaster Lucy Heartfilia! Any questions? No? Very well then, man your posts!"

Everyone saluted and quickly ran to their posts. Despite the crowd that formed no one had even the least bit difficulty doing his job… it really was a well-oiled machine and Titania is a place where legends are made. It is an honor to serve but it is also a great responsibility. Erza understood this well and left no room for error, everything must be as precise as a clock.

"Course, Captain?" Lucy asked as she followed Erza who climbed the wooden stairs to the helm.

"We will go to Cedar first. There is no chance in finding him straight away so I want to hear first reports from merchants that were robbed. What cargo he is after, what ships he targets, where does was he last seen. Free ports will not give me that information but Cedar is not a free port. Someone will know."

"Understood." Lucy nodded.

Seventy third hour after the skirmish passed… Jellal was still worried about his situation. Avoiding ships will be difficult and as it stands only six cannons are operating, barely enough to sink schooner, not to mention brig. He kept looking at the lacrima crystal over and over, as if trying to make the number disappear with only his gaze. He disliked what he was seeing, his own image… Picture of him old though, one he had to take when he first obtain his rank as captain, facial lines were there but he looked so much younger on this picture and without tattoo over his right side of face. As for hair… more tidy, combed to officer standard but color is same. He gazed at the picture and his right hand rose up, fingers brushed against his cheek, moving over the tattoo… A suitable mark for his betrayal.

He didn't sleep well again… most of the time he spent on deck looking into the endless seas and stars that reflected their light on the surface of water. Calm night is what he loved most, a rare moment when water was like a salt fields, extending for kilometers. Not a trace of wind, not a single small wave to upset this almost unnatural scene on the open sea. He took what little calmness of the night could offer to ponder on current situation… What did he expect? Sooner or later Navy would have turned its gaze to his direction, they wouldn't dare to allow him to just walk out, not to mention raid their waters.

Day was far less calm than night and ship was yet again cutting through waves. Wind filled the sails and the spirit was high among the crew for they have not seen any ship for two days. Normally this would be considered bad luck but in this case, it just meant they could reach safe haven and be back in full effect. It didn't take long after the daybreak for a shout to be heard.

"Land ahoy!" Natsu shouted from the nest making everyone on deck look forward and far mountains could be seen far into the horizon. Jellal moved to port side and jumped on wooden fence, holding himself on rope.

"That would be Haregon." He said, voice mix between anxiety and content. "Time to see how far Lady Luck will follow us… Mister Dreyar, you got the helm bring us in! Rest of you look like gents and ladies that they think you are!

He looked up toward the nest and shouted "Mister Dragneel, you know what to do! Let's hide our Fairy!"

"Aye aye Captain!" Natsu responded and jumped from the nest, grabbing onto the tackle, sliding down and as he did the black sail with Fairy emblem rose up and folded. Now a full white sail opened and it couldn't be recognized from another brig. A little bit of marvel that Gajeel did with some of his innovation in hope to quickly switch their attitude toward ship… White for navy, black for everyone else.

Within thirty minutes they were already at the docks and ready to disembark. Most were ecstatic to do so, first time they set their feet on solid ground in weeks. Plank was out and crew stood waiting for captain. There is a small unwritten rule they learned fast, and that rule is that unless there is an emergency, captain is first to set foot on the land. And speaking of devil… he walked down the plank and onto the wooden dock, followed closely by Laxus and Natsu. Instead of his navy blue uniform he was now in gray and dirty blue leather jacket, red folded cloth instead of belt and dark gray cloth pants with brown leather boots. An image completely unlike the one on the ship, tidy and immaculate captain has transformed into common scallywag.

"Mister Fullbuster, get us provisions, Mister Redfox, we'll be in for several days, see to it that she…" he pointed at Dark Fairy "is well and merry!" Gajeel nodded and pulled Levy along with himself. She didn't complain and instead just smiled, feeling content that they may have some time on land to rest and recover… and what not.

"Mister Dreyar…" he turned and looked at Laxus "You know whom we need, be discreet in recruiting, no more than 5."

"Aye, Captain!" Laxus nodded and moved along, it was about time to fill the hole in crew. "Mister Dragneel, you are coming with me. You have the bag?"

"Not leavin' it out of my sight." Natsu grinned wide and patted large leather bag that hanged over his shoulder.

"Good, let's go and visit friend of ours." Jellal said and as they started walking he pulled his hood over his head. He needed to remain incognito, now more than ever and his blue hair is not exactly something that is seen every day. Some blockhead might start getting ideas and… well… let's just say killing a man because of simple "misunderstanding" is not good for reputation, especially for man in his position.

At the center of port there was rather large building, several stories high and in its front yard it displayed several cannons, planks, sails… everything one ship would need. He knocked twice on door and entered along with Natsu. The shop seemed empty, no one behind counter but they still walked in and closed the door.

"Be with you in a moment!" voice soon came from the backroom and after that moment passed, large bald man came out and stood behind counter, showing wide grin on his face. "Well this is a sight, didn't expect you to come so soon."

"Had a little bit of complications." Jellal said as he approached the counter along with Natsu.

"Still trying to outrun the world eh?"

"Only when it starts barking at my heels."

"Right right, now what can I get you today?"

"The usual, planks, nails, sails, tackling…" Jellal said pulling his hood down, revealing his face. "And… cannons."

"Took some hits did you?" man nodded, his grin disappeared as he looked at Jellal… something that captain didn't miss to notice.

"More than I would want to…" Jellal hesitated for a moment but he still felt the urge to ask… and he did "I take it news reached here?"

"Aye, this morning in fact, made more than just few heads turn but yout ain't breaking any records soon. There are plenty of those with bigger bounty on their heads." He chuckled and Jellal merely smirked at this. "How many will it be this time?"

"Eighteen… and you can take six of mine for free." Jellal said, not missing a beat.

"Generous Captain Fernan-" man chuckled loud but was quickly interrupted.

"I told you not to use that name anymore…"

"My bad, my bad Captain 'Siegrain'…" man rose his hands up with another chuckle. "So what'll be? 18-pounder? 24-pounder?"

"42 but I'll take 48 if you have them."

"You are not thinking of mounting eighteen 48-pounders on that brig of yours? Come on you are not that desperate, are you?" Man was confused.

"With hundred thousand on my head and fifty for each of my crewmember? I am as desperate as I can be. Unless you got some 36-mediums…"

"That's a tall order you have Jellal." The mention of his name made Jellal frown but shopkeeper didn't bother to flinch.

"I know you have them."

"I don't…" Man replied frowning but Jellal kept pressing.

"Come on, Jura I know you do. No one in Haregon has connections like you do, there are always mediums in your stock. For an old friend?"

Jura frowned and threw his head back, eyes closed. He hated situations like this even more considering that Jellal could read him with such ease.

"There may be two sets of such… Fat, rich blockhead got himself a galleon, wants to 'explore the world' can you imagine? But I guess pirates raid ships nowadays" Jura chuckled and Jellal snorted. "I suppose the cargo could have been lost on the seas…"

"Yeah those bastards… No room for honest man to do his business." Jellal chuckled finally.

"But it's gonna cost you… cannons and this favor that I am doing for you. 300 000, no less." Jellal just nodded and signaled for Natsu to put his bag on counter which Jura opened and took a gold coin from it, biting it.

"You don't trust me, do you?"

"I trusted you well when you were sailing under Gentlemen. You walk in as pirate, you are gonna be treated as pirate."

"Fair enough. I'll have Mister Redfox collect them along with the usual, tell him that to bring you six cannons from the ship."

"Will do. And… " Jura said just before Jellal left "Be careful out there, alright?"

"No promises." Captain concluded and left the store. He placed his hood back over his head and looked around, trying to spot anyone from the royal military or navy and as soon as he made sure there weren't any they moved onto the next order of business.

Port towns such as this usually accepted pirates, bounty hunters and privateers along with regular Royal Navy ships. Despite great disproval of the Council but then again there was not much they could do. These towns had their own levels of independence and as long as they paid taxes, military had no authority to command. Of course, among many of such port towns in Fiore, some were more eager to cooperate with Council and for that they received benefits while others decided to provide haven for any ship and by default they were richer. These were commonly called 'free ports' and bounty hunters and pirates alike were their best customers. Commodities and goods passed from hand to hand in vast amounts, anything from common spices to exotic items. Pirates in particular were considered high valued customers, needing to repair and restock often and selling goods at lower prices… they never argued as the origin of the goods they had was… well… free. In return, everyone obey single law… No fighting allowed while in port and its waters or they will not be allowed to dock again. Haregon is one such town.

Dark Fairy was slowly reaching its full capacity. Hull armor was repaired, broken planks repaired, sails restocked and broken ram replaced with new one. With every hour, she was looking more and more beautiful in the eyes of her crew but what made them truly smile is the set of cannons. Their delivery has been completed, their supplies restocked and within two days crew was getting restless. Half hour later they were already on an open sea, away from port authorities, away from laws of gentlemen. Jellal emerged from his cabin in his navy blue uniform, buttoned up to the top, captain's hat on head and weaponry in full effect. He walked up to the helm where Laxus was standing, holding the wheel and making the Fairy cut through the waves.

Laxus looked toward Jellal, holding helm with one hand while other raised up for salute "Captain!"

"Mister Dreyar, how is the crew feeling today?" Jellal asked, saluting back to Laxus.

"Able and willing, Captain."

"Morale?"

"Itching for a trouble." Laxus grinned as he returned his other hand to helm. Jellal nodded, taking several seconds to gaze to the horizon before he smirked.

"Mister Dragneel!" He shouted and looked up at nest where Natsu was, yet again, stationed "Let the Fairy fly on the wind!"

"Aye aye Cap'n!" Natsu replied rather cheerfully and grabbed the tackle, sliding down from the nest. Now instead of the full white sail, black one rose with Fairy emblem spreading under the rush of the wind. Crew looked up and smiled as they saw it.

"Let's cause some mischief." Captain concluded as he took deep breath of salty air.


	3. Easy prey!

**A/N: Been a while since last update... almost two months. Not gonna lie, I am a bit lazy, trying to achieve everything but I didn't forgot about the story. Quicker pace in this chapter, bound to be a bit more interesting but what it really does is promise a better one on the next chapter. What is it? Well.. wait and see.**

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Jellal rubbed his chin with right hand as he looked down at the map, lost in his thought with eyes glancing from one point to another. Laxus stood on other side of the desk, arms crossed occasionally looking up at captain as if trying to read his thoughts but no luck would ever be sufficient for that miracle to happen. Still, this silence of his was slowly getting to him, despite immense patience Laxus had, even he had his limits, especially when captain is silent for almost fifteen minutes.

"Your thoughts, captain?" Laxus finally asked, making him glance up from map to quartermaster and then down at the map.

"It is almost end of June… sugarcanes are being harvested. Most will come from here." Jellal lowered his right hand and tapped on large island south of Fiore "Traders won't risk going to Haregon, too close to Black Orchid… They will go for either Cedar or Red Iris, find a ship or two as escort and then continue."

"Is that why we were sailing for six days to get here?" Laxus asked and Jellal simply nodded.

"Navy passes by here often so most traders feel safer around these waters which means… they will not expect us."

Laxus chuckled slightly, looking down at the map again. It amused him at how much thought Jellal gave for these kinds of things. Often he wondered if Jellal could ever be called a pirate as his behavior was that of an admiral. It would bug him at nights if captain is doing this for the sake of obtaining riches or for the sake of some other obscured purpose, maybe revenge… that dirty word. If it was then it was pointed at wrong people. Laxus knew well that captain is often open with him with any matter but there was this feeling that lately he kept more and more secrets. He also knew that he is only one on this ship who could dare to poke into these things, without suffering cold glare from him.

He decided to poke "Still thinking about _**it**_?"

Jellal looked up at his quartermaster who straightened his face, looking down at his captain with calm expression and he didn't need to say anything more, everything was understood. Despite closeness between two of them, closeness that was shown in odd way, Jellal disliked discussing certain topics but every once in a while, he would 'give in' and utter few cryptic words.

"Not a day passes without me thinking about it, mister Dreyar."

"It wasn't your fault, captain."

"I am aware, mister Dreyar." Jellal responded in formal, strict tone "But that doesn't make it any less of a mistake. Ask me no more about it, we have concluded that topic the moment we acquired black sail. Understood?"

"Aye, captain." Laxus responded in quieter tone, not wanting to further agitate him. Height difference between them was evident but there was never question on recognizing who is the captain and who is quartermaster… every free man in port would need but a single glance at Jellal and point 'he is the captain'. Authority was never a question and it was that very authority that made Laxus hold great respect for him.

"How will weather serve us?" Jellal asked, this time with less strict voice. He was back into his pondering state but the question was left mute as Laxus shrugged. It wasn't his job to predict it, in fact, there was a person who was to read the weather… and she was not in the cabin. Jellal took deep breath and exhaled through his nose, walking outside of his cabin, followed by Laxus.

Since the beginning of its sailing days, Dark Fairy never saw a single day when it wasn't busy on the deck. Sailors were always dedicated, hardworking and very well paid for their work. Naturally, captain always maintained strict discipline, regardless of the fact that it was a pirate ship and not Royal Navy. There were always few of those who would argue the fact that they joined to be free but those rumors and small protests were quickly silenced by the sight of reward. No one questioned captain's methods, but everyone had questions they never dared to ask.

Four hours passed since the noon and the rather cheerful chatter filled the deck of the Dark Fairy. Raise sails, scrub the deck, retie all the knots… repeat same thing over and over to ensure that nothing went unexpected when time was dire. Everyone needed to be elsewhere, everyone moved across the deck with ease barely missing each other with each pass… everyone but these two.

Sitting on a crate on port side of the ship was a short blue-haired reader who held book in her hands, reading the content out loud to a large messy black-haired carpenter who was sitting on the deck, leaned against the wooden fence. Even in such position he was almost as high as her… a compliment to his height and her shortness.

"… but the soldier lost no faith, for in his heart he felt that beyond that mountain was his beloved. And he moved on, with heavy sword and heavier heart, he moved toward the sea…" Levy read one line after another, capturing Gajeel's attention fully who, at first, wanted to deny the interest but as she moved on he became more and more enthralled with her words.

"And then?" He asked but voice quickly interrupted, cutting off Levy before she could continue.

"And then he sailed for seven years. When he got home she was dead and he cried on her grave." Jellal said as he stood before them. In that instant Gajeel's eyes widened and he quickly looked toward Levy who simply sighed and closed the book, confirming the fears that carpenter had.

"Come on cap'n!" Gajeel protested as he stood up "I just started to like the story."

"So did I." Captain looked at him "But then I reached the end and it ruined it for me." His head turned toward blue-haired reader „Miss McGarden, I wish to marvel upon the miracles of your _reading_ abilities and with some luck and no _distractions_ " Jellal glanced back at Gajeel who grunted at word distractions "you will tell me if we will sun or if I have to wear different coat."

"Yes, captain!" Levy quickly stood up and saluted, walking with fast pace toward the cabin. Jellal simply sighed and looked back at Gajeel.

"I believe you and mister Lily were to test the cannons, were you not?"

"Against what?" Gajeel asked with raised voice. "What are we to shoot at?"

"Ship sighted!" Natsu's voice was heard from the nest "To starboard! About 500 meters!"

"Your question has just been answered. Man your station, mister Redfox." Captain ordered and this time without any delay Gajeel went below the deck. Jellal moved to the wooden fence, standing beside Laxus who just observed the ship with arms crossed and coat covering his shoulders. He extended his hand, offering captain spyglass and without any word, Jellal took it.

"Trader?" Laxus asked, glancing down at captain.

"Sailing under King's blue and gold. Take us closer." Jellal added, returning spyglass to Laxus who immediately returned to helm and took over, turning it toward the ship and with another order from captain, half of the sails were spread and stretched by the wind. Crew was already prepared, some came to the bow of ship where Jellal already stood at, watching carefully as they drew closer. Once they reached 200 meters of distance, trading ship turned and with the wave of Jellal's hand, so did the Dark Fairy.

"Mister Fullbuster!" he shouted and officer quickly responded, standing beside and saluting "You have light-lacrima?" Gray nodded to his question and Jellal's eyes now were again fixed on the ship.

"You know Morse code more than the rest, relay this message." He took few seconds to allow Gray to pull out crystal from his pocket, roughly the size of his own finger and with few taps on it he raised it up above his head. With every press of index finger against the tip of it, lacrima would glow. "This is the captain of Dark Fairy, you are to fold sails and halt your ship. If you do not resist, no harm will come to your crew. Lower King's flag as a sign of compliance."

Jellal nodded toward Gray and he finished sending message over lacrima. For couple of minutes nothing happened and unusual silence filled the ship. Only few crewmen were occupied with their duties, everyone else were waiting for the reply from the ship and even Natsu came down from the nest.

"Maybe they didn't see the message." Natsu said and seconds after he finished sentence they saw several flashes followed by the thundering sound and finally the cannonballs splashed in the water, about forty meters from the ship.

"No, they saw the message and they just want to make it more fun for us." Jellal said and moved away from the crowd, going toward the main mast "Mister Dreyar, sound the bell, mister Lily man the cannons!"

Laxus moved up near the helm and rang the big brass bell. Sound of it was the signal for everyone to be on their posts and without any delay, they did. With wide smile and loud cries, ship turned and moved toward their prey but as they turned to chase them so did other ship turn but in opposite direction, preparing to flee. Captain tapped Natsu on shoulder twice, saying no word but it was immediately understood and pinkette quickly climbed the ropes toward the nest, crouching as he reached his destination. Chatter went silent and eyes looked toward captain and Laxus. Large quartermaster slowly moved his arms and slid then into sleeves, buttoning up to his throat, now resembling Jellal in fashion. To see Laxus buttoned up and tidy was a true rarity but it was beyond a doubt a sign that things will be serious, that he will be serious. Jellal merely glanced toward his direction and edges of his lips curved into a barely visible smile.

"Mister Dragneel!" Captain looked up and nodded at Natsu "Let the Fairy fly in the wind!" Pinkette saluted and stood up, grabbing onto the rope and jumped down from the nest, spreading the black sail with Fairy emblem wide. The gust of wind made sure that entire ship jerked under the sudden acceleration. Loud cheers were heard as they gazed up at the Fairy, raising their swords in salute to _her_. There were very few ships that she couldn't catch and no ship that could catch her.

The difference in speed was evident, even with full sails, trading ship could not match her speed and within minutes Dark Fairy was almost astern.

"Take us to their starboard, fifty meters!" Jellal ordered and sailor that manned the helm turned the heavy wheel. Crew aboard the trader was more than nervous and they didn't hide showing it but they didn't intended to surrender either. Several shots were again fired toward them; most fell in water just beside the Fairy while one of the cannonballs flew over the deck, barely missing forward mast. This, of course, alerted captain but he didn't change his stance, he was calm, composed but not a fool enough to be generous and forgive for this.

"Mister Lily, fire the cannons, aim for the hull!" Jellal ordered and cannons barked. Medium-cannons made very little sound unlike their gunpowder counterparts. There was only the mild sound of cannonball scratching the inside of the barrel and bright blue light that followed cannonball as it flew out. It wasn't something crew was used to. Captain and his officers were familiar with them but the rest of crew watched cannons with both confusion and amusement. Jellal, on the other hand, was everything but amused as every single cannonball flew over the deck of trader, making no damage to it.

"Mister Lily!" Captain shouted at black sailor.

"We're adjusting them Cap'n!" Lily said as he lowered the barrel of cannon and rest of the crew followed his example. Another volley of cannonballs flew at their direction and this time one of them managed to pierce Dark Fairy's hull, sending few crewman into panic as it hit right below them.

"Today, mister Lily! Before we question if there is tomorrow!" Jellal shouted again, angrily this time and within seconds, cannons lit again, sending volley toward trading ship, finally hitting their mark. Cannonballs easily broke through the wooden hull, creating large holes and after another volley holes became even larger. Captain looked toward Laxus and nodded and blonde officer pulled out his pistol. Closing his left eye and looking carefully with right he aimed and shot once then once more. Each bullet crackled and created a small thunder upon impact, breaking upper side of the main mast apart, making it bend and fall under weight along with sails.

"Take us in!" Captain ordered and this was the signal for crew to change their posts and they all gathered to the side, drawing their swords and pistols, sending taunting cries. Once they reached twenty meters of distance, crew started tossing grappling hooks, grabbing onto the deck of ship and pulling it closer. Every time someone would try to cut the ropes, he would meet the swift end as bullets reached him. Ships almost collided; standing side by side as if they were brothers and three long planks rose up and fell heavily on the wooden fence, creating bridges between ships. First one to board the ship was Natsu who never allowed to be left out of the fun. He drew Igneel and in that instant flames engulfed the blade. Those closest to him were first to feel the searing sting of the cutlass. Right behind him were Lily and Gajeel with their artifacts that grew almost twice their own size and cut through the lines of armed crew with ease. After them, rest of the crew from Dark Fairy boarded, rushing in to overpower the defenders. Swift and brutal fashion often gave best results against crew that was not as trained as they were.

Last one to board, after every other crew member, was Captain Jellal who appeared as if this was something as natural to him as breathing… walking, not even running. The very moment he stepped on the deck of ship he drew his sword, measuring his opponents with quick glance. First one who attacked him met swift end as captain evaded his attempt with ease, drawing blade across his chest and creating deep gush, sending him immediately over board. He stood no chance. One by one, men fell by either sword or pistol, leaving only a dozen alive who retreated toward the other side of the ship, followed by Fairies. They would've met same end but Jellal moved through the crowd and raised his left hand, clenching fist. His crew immediately stopped but didn't avert their weapons.

"You were given an ultimatum. Their lives were in your hands." Jellal spoke as he pointed to numerous bodies that were on deck "I am giving you two choices now. Surrender and you will be spared, your ship left as it is and your cargo taken. Resist and mister Dragneel might misplace his sword." Jellal pointed at Natsu who smiled wide, showing rows of white teeth as he placed tip of his sword against the wooden surface. Immediately, blade was once again engulfed in flames, ready to consume ship as if it was a dry tinderbox.

"Who is the captain of this ship?" Jellal asked and one man stood in front. Black hair with short beard, no more than fifty years old, still holding sword but it was pointed down now. His clothes were not of the regular sailor or even rich ship-owner, but rather, he wore clothes more appropriate to naval officer. Jellal nodded in acceptance of his rank and asked "What say you?"

"Well, you give us little choice, lad. We surrender." captain replied dropping down his sword and rest of the crew did the same. "Ship is yours…"

"Wise choice." Jellal replied and looked around toward his men, nodding at them. Even without a single word said, they understood what was to be done and they dispersed, going down below the deck in search of cargo, leaving only Natsu, Gray, Gajeel and Lily to stand beside Jellal who turned back to look at man he spoke with moments ago. "I have more questions for you, captain. First, do you know who I am?"

Man simply waved his head but instead of saying his name, Jellal simply said "Good." Notoriety was everything to a pirate and even though he fit perfectly into that cathegory, public image was something he did not want to spread so eagerly for reasons known only to him and his closest officers. He continued "This is not your ship, that much is evident. Who owns it?"

"Landowner. Goes by the name of Everlue." Man responded "He hired us to sail it to Cedar where he is to take ship and cargo, and pay us."

"You can tell him that you were intercepted by pirates, he will believe you once he sees damage done to the ship." Jellal said, voice still strict and sharp as he looked toward Natsu who took his sword and placed it back into its sheath. "You have half a day of sailing till Red Iris king's port with good wind… Or can continue to Cedar which is two days, three in your case. You will be left with sufficient provisions for one day, I suggest you go use it wisely. We'll be taking your cargo and leave, if you fire upon us, we will sink you." He turned and moved pass those who remained with him to observe as cargo was being carried to their ship. There were mostly crates but also few barrels among them, he could guess what is inside but for the moment he preoccupied himself with bodies that were on the deck. Small relief took him as he didn't recognize anyone from his crew, a good sign for a start.

Titania glided slowly, moving toward the pier to dock reaching its destination plank was extended from the deck and fell down the stone platform. Scarlet-haired captain was first to disembark, followed by her blonde quartermaster.

"Lieutenant Strauss!" Erza said with loud, strict voice and within seconds, bulky officer appeared before her, saluting "Keep the crew ready, we will not stay here long. I want Titania ready to sail upon our return."

"Understood, ma'am!" Elfman lowered his hand and returned to the ship, leaving captain and her quartermaster down at the pier. Erza looked once at Lucy and made her way toward the town.

"Any reason why you decided to land here instead of going straight to Cedar, captain?" Lucy asked, following Erza's one step behind and captain answered her question with a nod.

"Former officer that served on Oathkeeper was born here. He was honorably discharged one month before Jellal defected. Reports do not say anything about his tactics. He was meticulous but never described details of the battle outside of key points. Out of four officers that served with Jellal, two defected along with him, one died three months ago and one should be here."

"But why do you want to find him, captain? He probably will not know where admiral is." Lucy pressed with questions. Erza was not known as patient captain or one to be questioned to such extent as to explain every step of her action. Officers and crewmen who asked too many questions often managed to only anger her. This rule had only one exception and that exception came in form of Lucy who enjoyed Erza's limitless trust. She was also only one who never left her side, even to meetings reserved strictly for captains and admirals. Erza Scarlet always placed such ultimatum before them, where one goes other follows.

She stopped walking and smiled softly at Lucy "I have no intention of spending months of searching followed by numerous skirmishes with Jellal. My confidence in Titania and its crew is vast but even I have to admit that Jellal will not be easy opponent, especially with extensive record behind him on achieving almost impossible. To rush blindly is to suffer damage and I find it unforgivable to sacrifice a single man for that traitor."

Lucy smiled at her words, despite the cold front and harsh nature it was evident that Erza cared greatly for her crew. It was something that only she could see, how much Erza cared. For everyone else she was the cold, calculated captain who executed her actions with swiftness, precision and often brutality if it would to come to it. Maximum amount of damage with minimal amount of casualties. To serve under Erza Scarlet means to be pushed beyond limits but also it meant higher chance to survive on the sea. All that produced vast amount of respect that Erza enjoyed coming from her crewmates as they placed their trust in her guidance.

"If there is anyone who would be there to witness Jellal's plans and how they were made, it would be his lieutenants and one should be here." Erza concluded and casually looked around, spotting a docked ship but it was not a ship that caught her attention, it was the damage it suffered. Large breach on hull with front mast broken in two. _That was not doing of any storm_ she thought and walked toward the ship, followed closely by Lucy. One man was standing down at the pier while his crewmates climbed up the embarked and disembarked, carrying broken pieces of wood and crates.

"Your ship has seen better days. What happened to it?" Erza asked, moving straight to the point and avoiding pointless chat.

"And just who are you, lass?" Man, clearly annoyed, asked as he turned to face her.

Erza's eye twitched couple of times at his tone but obliged "Captain Erza Scarlet of His Majesty's Navy."

"Aye? Where were you today when we met pirates?" Man continued with questions, taking off his hat and wiped sweat from his face. Erza's forehead vein was about to pop out but a slight nudge from Lucy kept her composed.

"We just arrived. Do you know who attacked you?"

"No, bastard didn't exactly said his name. Although he did asked if we knew him."

"Then you should report this to Admiralty, and next time watch where you sail." Erza responded, taking another glance at the ship.

"Aye, we did… they said they've been chasing Dark Fairy for months now…"

Erza quickly turned her head as she heard the name of the ship and with few steps she was close to man, making him take a step back to avoid any collision with scarlet captain.

"What did you say was the name?" She asked. It wasn't that she didn't hear the name but she wanted to confirm.

"Dark Fairy." Man swallowed, feeling chill climb up his spine just from her cold gaze "They've sent message through code before they embarked."

"Where are where they heading?"

"I don't know, honestly… we saw them sailing to west."

"What were you carrying as cargo?" Erza pressed on with questions.

"Two tons of sugar, twelve barrels of rum, eight crates of tobacco and three crates of luxury commodities." He answered nervously.

To Erza this was all the information she needed. She quickly turned on her heels and with quick steps made way back to Titania, followed by Lucy. She cursed silently at the missed chance to intercept them but then again, she couldn't have known they would venture this close to king's port.

"Are we not going to find officer?" Lucy asked.

"He can wait. Jellal will most likely sell the goods and largest market on the west coast is Cedar."

"Which is also a free port." Lucy added and Erza nodded.

"They will accept goods regardless of who brings them which makes it perfect place for pirates and privateers who venture this far from the east. He will be slower with cargo so we just might catch him at port." Erza continued as they embarked on the ship. She stood beside the helm and watched as her crew pulled Titania out of the docks and headed toward the open sea. There was hope… hope that she could end all of this quickly.

"Jellal… I am coming for you." Erza uttered as she looked far to the horizon.


	4. First contact, part 1

**A/N: Well that took me a lot to write, things seem to pile up in life and it gets a bit difficult to find time. Still, I managed to write two chapters that I am sure you will enjoy and once again, I am thankful to all of you for your great patience and for your support. Next chapter (which I enjoyed very much writing) is coming tomorrow**.

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 _"…Belay that order!..."_

 _"…Mutiny!... Treason!..."_

 _"…You will hang for this!..."_

Jellal suddenly snapped and sat up. It took him good ten seconds to realize he has left land of dreams and nightmares. His breath was deep and heavy, fast as he was struggling to calm himself. He closed his eyes and took one deep breath, holding it in for few seconds before exhaling and placed his feet on the wooden floor. Hand reached up and pressed against his eyes and forehead, now realizing that his face was bathed in sweat; he looked at his wet palm and closed his eyes again. No more than few seconds passed and knock on the doors was heard. He responded with a firm "Enter!" and tall blonde man entered, closing doors behind himself and looking at topless Jellal, sitting on bed with still tired expression on face and messed hair.

"Mister Dreyar." Captain responded in lower, almost trembling voice as he felt his throat as dry as desert.

"Captain." Laxus saluted slowly as he continued to watch Jellal who now with both hands wiped his face from sweat, but with no towel near him he decided to just hang them over his lap. Pirate freedom be damned he was not going to succumb and wipe his hands against bed-sheet or worse… his pants. Quartermaster lowered his hand and placed both behind his back "Should I ask?"

"I would prefer you not to." Jellal said in same voice, making his officer let out a silent hum "What time is it?"

Laxus opened up his pocket and pulled out a pocket-watch from it. His finger pressed and opened the lid "Nine and fifty three."

Jellal snapped his head and shot a cold glare at Laxus "I believe my order was to wake me up at six sharp. Why didn't you wake me up sooner?"

"With all due respect, sir…" Laxus said and proceeded to return watch to pocket, unfazed by captain's strict tone "I decided to belay that order."

A small bubble burst inside Jellal's head the very moment he heard that word… cursed word… _belay_ …

"You barely had any sleep if at all. You are no good to us half-dead… Dark Fairy needs you to be at your best."

"Officer is supposed to-"

Laxus quickly interrupted "…lead by an example. We are all aware of it sir and if something happened while you were sleeping you can rest assured we would've woken you up. Crew dares not to keep you away from the fun." He smiled faintly as he looked at Laxus who bowed his head, discontent with situation but wise enough to not argue. If he didn't trust Laxus, he wouldn't let him on ship to begin with.

"Water…" he said in quiet tone.

"Sir?"

"Water." Jellal repeated in now high enough tone for Laxus to hear. He nodded and walked toward the stand behind main desk, taking pitcher with water and washbowl that he filled which he brought to the captain along with towel. Captain stood up with still somewhat shaking legs and took water into his hands, washing his face. After drying himself he took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, finally feeling his composure returning and expression reverting to his usual self. He took white shirt and coat, buttoning himself up to the very top. Now that he is presentable, day can start… late but better than to not start at all.

Pair walked out of the cabin and gazed up deck where crew tirelessly worked to keep ship in perfect sailing order. Gray, beside Laxus, was only one who saluted Jellal upon first sight of the day, everyone else would simply nod.

"Why do you do that?" Natsu asked, frowning at Gray.

"Do what?" Gray asked

"Salute. You make it as if we are royal navy and not scourge of the seas."

"It's a sign of respect you coal-brain." Gray twitched his eyes, already feeling his nerves being on heavy strain just by hearing Natsu's voice.

"Who are you calling coal-brain?" He quickly jumped up from the box he was sitting on.

"You want piece of me?" Gray turned to face him, hands already grasping hilts of his twin daggers.

"Bring it, Popsicle!"

"Mister Dragneel!" voice reached both of them and interrupted their squabble "Why aren't you on the nest?"

"Come on cap'n! I just got down from it!" Natsu groaned as he looked "You know I am not good with heights!"

"And this is an excellent opportunity to change that!" Jellal shouted.

"Why don't you send him up?!" Pinkette asked, pointing at Gray who frowned as finger was way too close to his chin.

"Mister Dragneel, you can either be on nest on scrubbing duty for the next three weeks, your choice!"

Natsu closed his mouth; he was silent for two seconds before responding in lower, less angry and annoyed tone "I better keep an eye on horizon…"

Jellal sighed as he watched Natsu climb up on ropes toward the nest, much to Gray's pleasure. He pinched bridge of his nose and mumbled "I should've left him marooned when we found him."

"He ain't that bad, sir. Strong, capable, reliable… tongue could use some shortening though." Laxus said grinning but Jellal simply couldn't bring himself to put concern on it now. Instead he called for Gray and Levy who rushed over and stood in front of captain.

"Our location?" he turned first toward Levy.

"We should be close to Cedar, captain." Levy responded in firm voice, trying to be as formal as possible. Even after serving so long on ship she still felt easily intimidated by Jellal. Captain nodded and looked toward Gray.

"How do we stand with cargo?"

Gray started report "Sugar, forty crates; rum, ten barrels and some high grade goods, three crates. Rest was destroyed during skirmish. It's a good catch, captain."

"Have you checked those three crates? What's in them?"

"Cocoa bars." Gray said and glanced toward Levy who widened her eyes at him.

"Did you say cocoa?" she quickly interjected and looked toward Jellal who responded same as Gray at her bright eyes "Can we keep one crate? Please, captain?"

Jellal averted his gaze toward Laxus and then toward Gray, seeing as neither of them had nothing to say he turned his gaze back at her and let out a smirk before answering "Very well, we'll keep those crates but only if you distribute them among the crew."

Her eyes lit up even more, if possible. She nodded and moved away. It was Laxus who first broke the awkward silence that rose.

"Are you sure about that, sir? Those cocoa can fetch up high price."

"We have enough to sell already; three crates won't make much difference. I see no reason why crew shouldn't enjoy benefits of their hard work. Besides… I heard that those commodities have bitter-sweet taste, wouldn't mind trying some." Jellal said with no smile but it was clear to Laxus and Gray that his mood improved. That sounded like him, perfect excuse of a stern but honest captain who attempted to enjoy small bit of calm but was interrupted by a frantic shouting from crow's nest. Natsu spotted land and spared no voice to let everyone know, much to Gray's displeasure. In his opinion, he was way too loud sometimes.

"I swear, I never know if he is euphoric, dying in anguish or raising _mutiny_." He said annoyingly as he observed his _comrade_ waving with hands down. Jellal glanced over to Gray and swallowed hard… another flash of the dream before eyes that made him inhale fast and deep. He wondered if anyone has seen him do that… it is small thing but he loathed any possibility of showing weakness to crew, he loathed being seen with scars. His eyes closed, his breathing slow and composed… in his world he was completely alone, dark curtain before his eyes and sound of ship cutting waves brought small piece of serenity, a moment to compose his thoughts, a moment to be captain again.

His steps, firm and quick led him toward stern, giving orders as he walked "Mister Dragneel!" he shouted "Hide our Fairy! Mister Dreyar, take the helm! Mister Fullbuster, three bell rings!" He approached and placed hand on the wooden fence as he looked far into distance toward the port of Cedar. Three bells rung and crew began fixing their own clothes. It was a signal for exactly that… to look less like pirates and more like ordinary sailors as much as possible. Even though Cedar was free port and not a day passed without a pirate ship sailing in, he still didn't want just everyone to know who and what they are. His plan was simple… to dock, find a merchant willing to overlook the fact that they just happen to have such great amount of cargo and sell it. Such merchants were not rare, although king's ports had very strict regulations regarding origin of cargo, free port merchants often welcomed looted cargo… it meant they can pay much less for it knowing pirates will be eager to part with cargo and receive jewels for it. Merchants then replaced boxes to make it seem as they originated from them, thus destroying evidence of previous owner. It was a win scenario for both parties.

Dark Fairy sailed in and docked at the port, greeted by the careful eyes of port watch guard and dozens of cannons stationed upon stone towers, ever vigilant to ensure safety of port. Plank extended from ship and slammed down on the dock upon which captain disembarked, followed by his officers.

"You know the drill, gentlemen." Jellal said as crew started disembarking "Mister Dreyar, you come with me, mister Dragneel, you wait on the ship for our buyer. He will likely come soon to pick up the cargo and deliver our jewels. Mister Redfox!" he called for Gajeel who was already ten steps away from him along with Levy, ready to disappear into the town.

"Cap'n with yer permission we'd like to get some… ummm… rest from all the sailing." Gajeel responded, taking a quick grab on Levy's behind, making her squirm and hit him with elbow.

"Well I was going to suggest for you to find a good tavern for entire crew to rest but if you prefer I can order it." Jellal grinned slightly and started walking, followed closely by Laxus who laughed as they passed pair. They didn't need to walk too far before reaching marketplace, filled with people both local and foreign merchants interested in local goods and precious exotic commodities. Laxus was first to spot a shop at the end of a wide square and tapped Jellal twice on shoulder before nodding toward direction. They entered shop where a man was standing at the counter, mid-forties in purple and black suit with short but well-kept beard. He was looking at a ruby that he held between his fingers, humming as he carefully studied it with small but intricate monocle that enhanced sight greatly. Man quickly placed precious gem down and removed monocle, welcoming customers with wide smile.

"Welcome, welcome to my humble shop!" he greeted them "What can I offer you today hm? I have excellent quality flour, straight from the Silverhill fields, none better than it! No? How about precious gems? Show your high status to everyone!"

"I am more interested in selling some goods." Jellal said as he approached the counter along with Laxus. Man glanced at both of them, noticing Jellal's gray jacket, unusually tidy for a sailor. He then glanced at Laxus who didn't change, keeping his navy-blue uniform "Interested?"

"Well that all depends on type of goods." Man quickly added as he finished scanning them, he was far too smart not to realize who they "What is it that you are offering, my friend?"

"Forty crates of sugar and ten barrels of rum."

"That's quite a lot you have there. Where did you get it if I may ask?"

"South." Jellal answered, being as vague as possible to avoid further questions.

"South..." Man repeated and took out a small book along with quill scribbling few numbers in it. His eyes occasionally would wander toward Laxus who was perfectly calm. "That is a very nice uniform. Navy officer?"

"Retired." Laxus responded.

"You are a bit young to be retired officer, are you not?" Man asked, aiming to expose them as quickly as possible in attempt to barter cheaper price.

"And you are not the only merchant in port." Jellal interjected "Maybe I can look out for another one who is less prone to poking into one's personal life."

"Whoa, hold on. Take it easy, my friend" man responded, waving with hand "I was just a bit curious, not implying anything. Forty crates of sugar, ten crates of rum…" he glanced up at them again, offering a wide smile "How does 400 000 jewels sound?"

"500 000." Jellal said without a single second of waiting.

Man slowly raised his head, looking away as he made grimace. Jellal knew exactly what that pose represents and it was obvious that man's intention was to haggle.

"That's quite the price you have there. I mean… the quality of goods…"

"The quality is just fine." Jellal quickly interrupted, frowning slightly "You can sell it for double that price later on, we both know that."

Man simply chuckled, a fake laughter as he realized that haggling with them will be difficult. Captain simply nodded toward Laxus and both of them turned to leave.

"Wait, wait, no need to make rushed decisions." Merchant walked around from counter and stood in front of them "Let's meet half way hmm? 450 000 jewels? A very good deal, yes?"

Jellal stared at him for few seconds and nodded, offering hand to man and he responded with a shake, sealing the deal and walking back to his counter to write down few notes in his book.

"You are a bit eager, haven't you had customers for with similar goods?" Laxus asked.

"Not lately. Few come with your…" he glanced at them "noble profession, so to speak."

"You know what we are." Jellal said, leaning a bit over the counter toward him "Don't you?"

"Yes, but lately pirates tend to avoid being called that way."

"Why is that?" Jellal asked.

Merchant looked around as if trying to check if he was alone even though it was his own store before leaning closer to Jellal. His tone was hushed but loud enough for both of them to hear "There's this rumor that Titania are roaming in these waters, looking for some captain… what's his name… Gillel, Jilel, Jubil, Jill … Something like that."

Even though he recognized his name in the group of random ones, he did all he can to appear uninterested in the story. Laxus on the other hand turned around and scratched his chin, letting two of them converse but with ears listening carefully. Jellal glanced over to Laxus who just shrugged before turning back to merchant "And… what do you know of this Titania?

"Everyone knows of Titania and captain Scarlet. Few who tangled with him managed to escape; those fortunate few now walk around the streets missing arm or leg, lucky to be alive."

"I see… how do you know he's in these waters?" Jellal asked, trying to poke a bit more into the subject without having to be suspicious.

"Rumors travel fast here, faster when someone's head is in question." Merchant chuckled silently "But enough about that, where can I pick up the goods?"

"Down at the docks, far east side. I'll have crew waiting for you. Deliver jewels there."

"Of course, of course." Man smiled wide, rubbing his palms and whistled loud, calling for his apprentice.

"And I'll inform how much you are to pay, don't go trying to trick my crew. They don't like that." Jellal added before walking out along with Laxus, leaving man to let out a grunt.

"Was that wise move?" Laxus asked "We could've gotten more for that cargo."

"We could have. But it is already more than what we paid for it, which is nothing and it will give crew some morale once they see they are getting shares. It will keep us from going low on supplies for some time too, best not get ourselves bad reputation among local shops and merchants."

"Aye, sir." Laxus responded with small grin, still keeping his pace with Jellal who seemed to be wandered aimlessly among the large marketplace "So what's our next move?"

"We find out all we can about this Scarlet. He could be trouble." Jellal sighed as he occasionally stopped to inspect some of the fruit.

"Why is that, sir? Pirates are already wanted by the Royal Navy."

"It is because Royal Navy is being too specific, assigning a ship to find me. He'll have no other job than to chase me and that means someone is gonna sing about my presence. For the moment we don't know how much they actually do know about us but if they kept records…"

"And they did." Laxus added and Jellal nodded.

"They have a lot about us, about me."

"Well we did commit treason." Laxus chuckled, making captain wince suddenly but he shook his head quickly to dispel unwanted thoughts from his mind.

"That we did… Until we know more about him, it will be best to sniff around and find all we can about this captain Scarlet. Who he is, what is he like, length of service, favorite food, drink, habits, everything we can before we actually get in open combat with him. We also need to be as less exposed as possible, staying in ports has to be limited to two days with no causing trouble, don't want to give them breadcrumbs to find us." Jellal stopped and turned to face Laxus "We sail at dusk. Sooner we are out of this area better."

"Understood, I'll ask Gray what he knows about this captain. If anyone knows about him or has ways to learn about him, it's Fullbuster. In the meantime, where will you be?"

Jellal looked around, trying to get another long glimpse of his surrounding as if to memorize it. His hands found way behind his own back and he took one long, deep breath before exhaling and looking at his quartermaster.

"Where my mind is least at ease" Was all he said before turning and walking away.

Laxus couldn't argue with captain on this, there were moments when he just needed to be alone and at those times it was best to do exactly that. Keeping eye on everyone on ship was taxing, despite the fact that it was Laxus's job to oversee them all, Jellal secretly kept everything within his own line of sight. Crew problems, reading emotions and reactions, everything that could give him slightest hint on how to react and utilize his crew to the best of their possibilities… it all fell within his domain. Upon returning to ship, Laxus found out that Gray was still out getting provisions for the ship and running after him would be fruitless, so instead, he decided to take his own five minutes of rest and made way below the deck, finding first free hammock to lie on. Ship was rocking lightly and sound of feet walking on the planks proved to be oddly relaxing. Even though he knew Fairy would be safe in port he couldn't shake the uneasy feeling that crept up on him… as if some calamity was approaching.

* * *

Erza opened her pocket and pulled out a pocket watch. Lid was silver, intricate in design with initials of Royal Navy… same as one Laxus still had on him. She opened lid and checked time before closing it.

"Make note in ship's registry that we docket at port Cedar at 19:26" she said toward Lucy who quickly opened book and wrote inside. Plank lowered to the deck and both of them disembarked, followed by rest of the officers. Her eyes wandered around, port was full and at least six brigs were seen docked but none matched description. Even if she would to just come and ask she was sure that no true answer she would receive.

"Orders, captain?" Lucy asked

"We shall stay here for three days. It is likely that Jellal is yet to arrive and we will be patient."

"What if he left?" was next question to which Erza simply smirked.

"Then there is no point in chasing him without any clue as to where he left. Asking merchants will not give us any clue, they tend to keep names of customers in great confidence and forcing them will only cause us to receive negative, likely to be unwelcome."

"If they have in fact sold cargo, they are probably celebrating." Lucy added and Erza turned her gaze toward Lucy. "Easy loot, good amount of jewels. Who wouldn't? Maybe we should check local inns, see if someone heard anything."

"Yes that is a good idea." Erza smiled and nodded "Let us go then."

* * *

"Sir… sir?" Voice was at first calm but soon it raised to point of shouting "Sir!". It made Laxus snap out of his dream and quickly pulled his pistol, aiming at a crewman who quickly backed down and rose his hands slightly. Laxus sighed, leaning barrel of his pistol against forehead.

"Don't do that again, understood?"

"Aye-aye." Man nodded and finally relaxed a bit "Gray Fullbuster is back, you told me to call you when he does."

"Right, I'll be right up." Laxus responded and holstered his pistol back on the leather belt, standing up from hammock. Every bone in his body cracked as he stretched, feeling rested after a long sleep. Though his muscles seemed to be ready and willing, his head said otherwise and only after a long yawn he went up the deck. "Gray!" he shouted, making one in question turn and walk over to him.

"You look like you've seen better days." Gray chuckled

"I've been through worse, shut up…" Laxus yawned again and slapped his cheeks hard with hands "What do you know about some captain named Scarlet?"

"Scarlet?" Gray asked, rising his eyebrows "Erza Scarlet?"

"Erza?" Laxus smirked "That's odd name for a guy."

"That's because she is not a guy." This got Laxus's full attention and he looked toward Gray.

"She? Well I'll be damned… We got a skirt going after us."

"Erza is after us?" Gray asked, now going close to point of a mild panic.

"Yeah… Captain heard a rumor that Royal Navy sent her to get us. So what do you know about… her?"

"Anyone and everyone in Navy knows who Erza is. Top in her class, didn't lose a single skirmish… Boarding her ship is notoriously difficult but those who do are guaranteed to receive promotion and a medal after just few months of service. As soon as she became captain they gave her HMS Spearhead, a ship which she renamed-"

"Titania." Laxus interrupted him.

"Yeah, a big ass-"

"Man-o-war." He interrupted him again.

Gray looked at Laxus with confusion "Yeah. You don't know who Erza is but you know what ship she sails. Did you become seer or something?"

"No… I'm looking right at it…" Laxus answered and only then did Gray noticed that he was looking over Gray's shoulder with widened eyes. Gray turned to look where quartermaster did and spotted the ship, docked no more than hundred meters from them with crewmen going up and down the plank and on side iron letters spelled " _Titania_ ".

"We're in deep shit." Laxus buttoned his coat in great rush "Come on, let's go get the captain!"


	5. First contact, part 2

**A/N: Second part of chapter as promised. Had a lot of thought as to where they should actually meet and this one was a bit more personal. Let me know what you think of it.**

* * *

Doors of the tavern opened and pair entered. It took quite a bit of convincing but Lucy managed to avert Erza from going in with her navy uniform. Instead of blue and gold they wore long dark red and brown with trousers of same colors and leather boots, resembling privateers more than naval officers. Though Erza insisted on tying her hair and hiding it under a wide hat, Lucy had no intention of keeping her hair constricted and allowed it to freely move with her every step. Place looked decent, not nearly as wrecked as they expected although patrons were loud and merry. Without even needing to be told, Lucy immediately went over to first empty table, still sensing the strong odor of ale, disgusted but endured it. Her head turned around, trying to hear any possible clue on whereabouts of Dark Fairy but loud, mixed, chatter and occasional laughter made it all more difficult. Erza had more direct approach, asking around sailors and locals but most simply waved hands. It seemed that it was pointless to come here.

"Now what is a cute lil' lass such as yerself doing all alone here?" Voice reached Lucy, making her snap out of his thoughts. Chair on opposite end moved and it was occupied by a pink haired man who made himself quite comfortable on it, lifting one leg up on the table. She could've sworn he was parading his _goods_ in front of her.

"And why do you ask?" She intended to be as 'friendly' as possible.

"What do you mean? A pretty girl sittin' all alone, how can I just stand idly and watch you become an easy prey for some dastardly men." He chuckled, giving her a wink that he just might be such dastardly individual.

"And you are just so eager to protect poor little me." Her voice became lighter, amused at his attempts. "What is in it for you?"

"It is man's sacred duty t' protect treasures of the land!" Natsu's arms were spread wide as if to point out every woman currently inside tavern.

"Don't you worry my treasure is well protected, especially from such well-articulated individual such as yourself." Lucy smirked.

"Well-what now?" He asked, folding his arms.

Lucy sighed, feeling that she should be as plain as possible and resorted to desperate measures.

"Yarr, shiver me timbers matey, me treasure be buried deep into the isl-"

"Why are ya talking like that?" Natsu asked, interrupting her obvious mocking voice and attempt to act like a pirate.

"W-what do you mean?" She asked, slightly confused "You are a pirate, you talk like that all day, right?"

"No." He responded with colder tone, eyes slightly narrowed and expression unimpressed. Even under low lights of the tavern a slight blush could be seen creeping on Lucy's cheeks.

"I don't have those… fancy words but sure as hell pirates don't talk like tha'. First of all, it's mate, not matey, as in crewmate, shipmate or mate for short. I don't even wanna know where ya got tha' "shiver me timbers" thing but _yarr_ was pretty cute." He laughed, making her blush even more as she felt uncomfortable with every second that passed… being educated by a common thug, pirate… disgraceful.

"Tell ya what, I'll get ya a mug of ale and if ya want, I can teach ya a thing or two about pirates." He winked and stood up. She felt relieved, as if a great rock fell from her shoulders and she glanced over shoulders to see where Erza is.

Captain Scarlet still retained her direct approach, going from one patron to another, asking about Jellal and if anyone has seen or heard of him but with no luck. She felt as if her luck is going to run out soon and with no high hopes she approached table at the corner where single patron was sitting, hat pulled low to cover most of his face and his eyes staring at his mug with finger trailing over the edge of the it.

"Are you a sailor?" She asked in cold voice as she approached but man offered no glance to her, his eyes were fixed on his mug.

"I am." He responded "Why do you ask?"

"I need information."

"On what?" he asked, voice deep.

"A man called Jellal."

"Never heard of him." He said, without a single second to think.

"There is a reward for information on his whereabouts."

"So?"

Erza walked around, standing on opposite end of the table, placing both hands on the flat surface… her eyes narrowed and gaze aimed to pierce man who still stared at his mug "You seem like one of the pirates, you know that piracy is illegal?" her voice colder, intimidating.

"Everything good in this world has some flaw. Either it's illegal, immoral or it will make you fat, why would piracy be any different?"

Erza growled silently "I have no time to debate philosophy. If you have information about Jellal you can be arrested for not assisting authorities."

"Look around you." He said, lifting head only enough for her to see his lips that moved with every word he spoke "Half of people you see are pirates of privateers. This is free port, free soil… King has no saying in here."

Erza growled, louder, and clenched her hands. Few seconds later she straightened herself "Like I said, there is money for any information, good money, if you remember something seek me out." She turned and left, walking toward next table to ask the very same question. Man took a long sip and stood up, walking out of the tavern. For moment he stood still, watching as the sun was reaching its final destination on the west and darkness slowly began to embrace the skies. He adjusted his coat and made his way down the cobblestone street but it didn't take long to notice that he was being followed. His steps, though expected to speed up, suddenly stopped and he spoke.

"It is not nice to follow people; one might think you are stalking me. Why?"

"You obviously know something but you are deliberately hiding it."

His head turned and eyes inspected his pursuer. She was standing three meters behind him with sword drawn and pointed toward him "Why are you seeking Jellal?"

"He is to be arrested and brought before the court to be tried for treason."

"Treason?" Man asked, slightly rising his voice.

"He is a pirate. Any man who willingly commits an act that is obvious violation of the law is to be immediately arrested." Erza's voice was louder.

He smirked "I know the law, you'll have to arrest entire port by those standards."

Erza continued, vigorous as she recited law "And any man who willingly commits an act of treason or any act that would reveal valuable information about Military or Navy, or break any law that can be considered as act against the King, is to be immediately arrested and executed!"

"Sovereign…"

"What is that?"

"Not against King, against Sovereign." Man corrected her "Kingdom of Fiore can have King or Queen to sit upon the throne. Law doesn't specify male… it specifies a title… Sovereign."

"Jellal…" Erza uttered through her clenched teeth and fingers tightened around hilt of her sword. Man simply sighed and in a single split second he drew his own sword and turned, attacking Erza with quick but calculated strikes. She found herself on defensive as blows came from right and left, led by a well-trained arm. Her prediction proved to be off and was forced to take steps back as he kept attempting to penetrate her defenses but with no success.

Attacks suddenly stopped and Jellal began circling around her in slow steps, keeping sword pointed at her. He was measuring her but discomfort began to rise in his mind. Her stance was weak, her pose sloppy and wide open, begging to be attacked. Knees bent and he rushed in again, convinced that he found weakness in her defense but that proved to be but a mere illusion and as strikes began to fly in her direction she showed true colors… weak stance proved to be perfect and every parry was there to study his own strength and method, she began predicting his moves rapidly and evolved to not only deflect his sword by move into offensive. Flawless strikes… each measured, each well aimed and balanced, aiming to disarm or wound him. Erza proved to be opponent he could not hope to best in this duel. He took a chance, waiting for her thrust and instead of parry he simply moved out of the way, dodging to his right and pulling out his pistol. Shot fired, aimed at her temple but her reflex was quicker and bullet missed the mark but hit her hat, sending it flying. Her hair flew, released from its leather prison and like a sea wave fell down on her shoulders, lit by the dying light of the sun… His eyes widened slightly, his heart skipped and Adam's apple rose and fell as she stared at him with eyes blazing in silent anger. Those eyes… they were cold and yet so very warm.

He smirked as he uttered, barely audible "Red… no… not red… scarlet…" he then laughed "you are Scarlet."

" _Captain_ Erza Scarlet and you are under arrest, Jellal." With a single fast step she closed the distance and placed sword right under his chin but she could come no further as he mimicked her, placing tip of his sword under hers.

"Now that is going to be a problem. See I rather came to enjoy my freedom and I am not going to just trade it for shackles and promise of a noose around my neck." His amused expression disappeared and he frowned. Left hand attempted to reach for his holster and grab second pistol but another hand grabbed his wrist, stopping him from reaching for it. Clicking sound reached his ear, too close for his liking.

"I am afraid you have no choice, captain." He glanced toward the source of this voice, spotting a golden haired girl standing behind him, holding gun pointed at his head. "Please surrender, we have orders to arrest you but if it comes to it… we might have to kill you if you resist."

"Now that ain't nice thing to say." Another voice came, male, sound of sword being unsheathed was heard and blade came to rest on Lucy's shoulder. "It was not nice for ya to just leave me all alone like tha'." Natsu chuckled, his eyes fixed on Lucy who groaned as she felt edge pressing against her neck "Say Cap'n, why is it that ya have to make every pretty lass yer enemy?"

"Occupational hazard, mister Dragneel." Jellal responded, keeping his eyes fixed on Erza's "Comes with the rank. Apparently we now have a situation."

Erza smiled, waving head slightly "You are mistaken if you believe that my quartermaster cannot handle a single pirate"

"Then how about we raise the stakes, hmm?" Gray's voice came out of nowhere, pressing one dagger against Lucy's side and one on other side of her neck, keeping her in no position to escape. Lucy became nervous as she glanced over to Gray who offered her smile.

"Gray Fullbuster, is it?" Erza asked and he nodded "Any decent man would calm himself after act of treason but you chose to follow a bad example. A shame really…"

"Now that might have been my fault." Yet another voice came from behind Erza, single clicking sound was heard "You didn't think I would leave good captain all to himself, did you?"

"Laxus Dreyar…" she spoke through her teeth and he chuckled "Resorting to cowardly acts is unbefitting for an officer of Royal Navy!"

"Well how fortunate that I am no longer in Royal Navy. You are in no position to negotiate anymore, Captain Erza."

"Have you no shame to wear that uniform?" She growled.

"I kinda grew attached to it." Laxus responded with a grin "Custom made, they say I was too tall for standard issues." He chuckled again but then his voice became cold, booming as he ordered "Now lower your weapon!"

"Adding another enemy against me, even one such as yourself, is still insufficient to provide you victory. I fought mor-"

"What makes you think I am aiming at you?" Laxus interrupted her, his voice was as loud as thunder. She gasped as quickly turned her head to side. Indeed his pistol, intricate and gilded with gold and silver was in fact pointed at Lucy who tried her best to appear calm as Gray's dagger pressed further against her side to a point where a bit more would pierce her uniform and skin. Erza's teeth clenched and she groaned.

"You so much as twitch your arm in wrong direction and your quartermaster dies right on the spot, but I am sure you're prepared for that sacrifice and if we are to combat you, we need all advantage we can get so… how about we get rid of one annoyance?" Laxus finished his sentence with unusual calm tone, his fingers twitched and adjusted themselves to have a good grip on pistol and index finger began to move millimeter by millimeter, making Erza's eyes widen in horror.

"Enough!" She shouted and lowered her sword along with her gaze. Dying on the ship was one thing but this was execution with no chance to fight back. This battle, Erza knew well, Lucy would lose and she was not yet prepared to lose her, not to Laxus, not to Jellal.

"Wise choice, captain." Laxus grinned and took a step back, this time aiming at Erza. Jellal lowered his sword and moved to his quartermaster's side, followed by Gray. Last to move was Natsu but not before he managed to press his hand against Lucy's side and whisper softly "For the note, I am against killing you. You are far too cute to die."

"You won't manage to sail out of the port!" Erza snarled at Jellal who still kept his composure.

"No, I will sail out and you will not stop me."

"Like hell I will-"

"If you haven't noticed you are in free port!" Jellal shouted "By treaty, no ship is to enter any combat with another ship within radius of three nautical miles from the port or else risks to be marked as unwelcome or worse, sunk. And since you care so much about the law, you will do nothing. You will turn and walk away, both of you."

"Law says nothing about conflicts within port… what is stopping you from shooting us in the back?" Lucy asked, glancing between grinning Natsu and composed Jellal.

"Not my style." He responded

"Like I am going to believe that!" Erza barked

"Believe or not, matters little now. If I wanted to kill you I would've done so ten seconds ago and I can still do it."

"If you let me live I will chase you down until the end of world!" She yelled, losing her composure "Such are orders given to me and unlike you I am loyal to my oath!"

"I expect nothing less from you." He spoke in soft voice as he gazed at her "Then I'll see you at that end."

Four of them turned and with quick steps walked away, going toward the port, leaving two of them to just stand. Lucy finally took a sigh of relief as tension was lifted but Erza had much more difficult time accepting situation. Her pride was hurt by the very man she is chasing, tricked and outwitted by sheer numbers with no other strategy than an ultimatum that she could not refuse. Her breathing was fast, shaking from anger and rage that were overtaking her.

"Captain?" Lucy turned toward her, placing hand on her shoulder, feeling her entire body trembling "Are you alright?"

"Jellal… this is not over…" she repeated over and over.

* * *

"That… was too close for my taste…" Gray said as they were approaching docks, looking up at Jellal, trying to read his reaction to this entire situation.

"I'll say." Natsu added, looking over his shoulder to see if they were followed. They weren't "What do we do now, Cap'n?"

"We do as we did before." Jellal responded, his gaze turning and it spotted the only warship of its class sitting at the docs "Sail and try to avoid Navy from catching us… we just got things a bit more interesting as we got ourselves a fan who is gonna be on our tail."

"Should we worry though?" Gray asked "From what I gathered, Erza's records are impressive and that ship is no easy target."

"No it is not… it is… smaller…" Laxus added as he looked toward Titania "less guns means less cannonballs going at us."

"Do not be deceived" Jellal interjected "It only looks as if ship is weaker but she reinforced her deck. Iron, maybe steel… removed excess height to avoid ship from tilting over to the side. Look at mast, arrangement of sails is different."

"How do you know?" Natsu asked.

"Because that's what I would do. Is the crew on Dark Fairy?"

"Every last man." Laxus reported.

"Good, we sail immediately."

"During the night? Barely any wind will fill our sails." Gray said

"Regardless we are faster than that ship of the line. By morning we won't even be within their sight even if they do start chasing us now." Jellal started moving again, climbing up the plank and boarded the ship. He turned toward his officers and Natsu and looked at them, causing them to watch him in confusion and expectation of what he would say. He probably had a lot of things to say but instead he only uttered "My gratitude."

"Did he just…?" Natsu started, widening eyes as he watched Jellal move toward the helm.

"You won't see that anytime soon. Savor it, lads." Laxus chuckled as he moved up and stood beside Captain. Within ten minutes, Dark Fairy was away from docks and in one final act of mocking, Jellal ordered for Fairy to fly in the wind.


	6. Can I have this dance?

**A/N: Wow, been too long since I updated this story. Not sure why thought, wasn't that I lacked motivation but also I cannot muster proper excuse and I apologize. In any case, new chapter is now present and let me know what you think. Thank you all for reading.**

* * *

Gentle breeze ran through the deck of Dark Fairy as she stood steady in water with sails folded by order of the captain. Gently she tilted from side to side as waves crushed against the hull. It was a good day, calm day with sun high up on the skies… and captain was in good mood. He stood near the helm, holding hands on the wooden railing, watching down at the deck where his crew kept the ship in order. Constant and often tiring job but they were merry. And why wouldn't they be? Last raid gave them good share of money, fresh provisions were brought on board and King's flag was nowhere to be seen on horizon. Indeed, day started good.

One sailor in particular was more than content with current situation. Lips curved into smile, walking from port to starboard with large hank of rope over his shoulder. His duty today was to inspect every knot on the rigging from the deck right up to the crow's nest. What made him happy was that he didn't need to stay on that cursed place all day… a few minutes up won't hurt. His mood hasn't passed unnoticed.

"You look happy." Gray commented as Natsu jumped down on the deck from the railing.

"I ain't hanging like a bird. That's enough." Natsu chuckled "Say… don't ya think Cap'n is a lil bit merrier than usual?"

"Probably had a good sleep." Gray said as he looked toward the helm, noticing Captain looking around. Usually he would be the one steering the ship around but today he saw it fit to allow officer to do so in his stead.

"What kind of captain has bad slee?" Natsu frowned slightly "He gets two shares of the booty, I'd be jumpin' out of me pants."

"That's why he barely sleeps. He is constantly being tormented by nightmares of you dancing without your trousers." Gray chuckled, making pinkette squint eyes at him, ready to burst. "I gotta say I'd be pretty depressed too."

Natsu moved closer to Gray, standing in front of him, almost into his face "Ye know, ye'r lucky I can't punch yer ass off the deck."

"Because of the code or because you can't?" Gray commented. Both of them reached for their respective weapons but loud voice reached their ears and they turned.

"Mister Fullbuster, mister Dragneel, a moment of your time!" Captain shouted toward them. Even though it sounded like a plea, it was far from one… no, in fact, this was an order that they dared not disobey. Their hands released weapons and they walked toward Captain. "How are we standing with provisions?"

"Two week of food, week and a half of fresh water." Gray reported and Jellal nodded before looking over the railing and down at the deck.

"Mister Lily, status of our guns?"

"All eighteen cannons in full effect, captain. Cannonballs for three long skirmishes."

"That will suffice." Jellal commented. Medium cannons were indeed marvel of naval combat, required no gunpowder which further made ships safer during combat… without something to ignite, there was no fear deck would blow up from below and that, in Jellal's mind, was worth every single jewel he paid for them. Down side was the fact that they required good twenty seconds longer to gather enough magic to fire than it would take for regular gunpowder cannons to be reloaded. This was a bit of a problem and he had to calculate carefully.

"Mister Fullbuster, where is nearest place where you can gather more information about Titania?"

"Crocus." He answered without single second of thinking.

"That means we have to sail for either Haregon or Cedar." Laxus commented.

"Miss McGarden!" Jellal shouted all of a sudden, making those around him avert heads from the intensity of his voice. No more than ten seconds later, blue haired girl appeared on the deck "How far are we from Haregon and Cedar ports?"

Reader took her glasses and placed them on, looking up at the clear skies before she took a small book from her bag. For good minute she appeared to be calculating in her head, her lips were silently moving.

"If winds are fair, four days to Haregon, five to Cedar, captain."

"Thank you miss McGarden. Mister Dragneel, have you finished checking ship's rigging?"

"Aye cap'n." Natsu nodded.

"Good, check all again."

"What? C'mon cap'n they couldn't have gone loose in five minutes!" Pinkette protested but quickly silenced himself as Jellal sent sharp look at him.

"We might have rough weather and I would like to know that my ship is going to endure all that sea can throw at us. There is also possibility we might run into King's finest."

"Why can't we just land in free port?" Natsu asked "I mean, ye said it yerself, she can't fire at us while in port."

"No she cannot but that doesn't mean she cannot wait us outside of port. Three nautical miles aren't too difficult to cover." Jellal answered.

"So we'll just wait till she runs out of food an' water. Make her either leave or dock."

Jellal sighed and turned himself fully toward Natsu, folding arms and looking at him with blank stare "And what if she brings entire navy to take shifts? We're gonna be stuck in the port with no way out but to engage everyone at once. That will surely end all chances for you to retire rich."

Natsu was silent for few moments "Ya think she'd bring entire Royal Navy to wait for us?"

"That's what I would do. We are still faster than Titania but she has more cannons. Bigger caliber too, that puts us in a rough position. We are yet to see Titania in any form of combat, but, there is one difference between my fantasy and reality."

"Wha' is that, cap'n?" Natsu asked.

"In my fantasy you are checking the rigging instead of standing here." Jellal turned forward again, placing both hands on the wooden rail. Natsu let out a groan before moving down the stairs and toward the deck, reluctantly beginning to check everything again. This, however, brought some satisfaction to Gray.

"Mister Fullbuster."

"Yes, sir." He responded, standing tall beside him with hands behind his back, waiting for orders.

"Check in with mister Redfox and tell him to have planks ready, sails too. Also, I want you to move provisions to center of the ship as much as you can."

"Understood." Gray saluted and moved down on the deck and headed below the deck, leaving Jellal and Laxus to stand beside helm.

"Jewel for your thought, captain?" Voice came, interrupting Jellal's thoughts. Blonde quartermaster easily towered almost entire head over him. He turned and nodded toward Laxus.

"Nothing in particular, mister Dreyar." Jellal answered, collecting himself, snapping out of dreamy gaze and returning to his stern, calm self.

"It has been weeks since we saw Titania. Reckon she's figuring out where to catch us?" Laxus asked, folding his arms. His coat hanged over his shoulders, flapping with ends and sleeves under wind but not falling off.

"Without a doubt." Jellal nodded. His brows furrowed slightly at the very thought of Erza.

"You've been in a good mood lately, captain." Laxus added, looking down at the busy deck.

"What gave me away?"

"Usually you barely sleep." Laxus said, Jellal turned his head to look at his quartermaster who was grinning… not a large grin but visible enough. "You try to cover it but I know you wander the deck during nights. Lately you've been spending all your night time in cabin."

Jellal smirked. Despite his best attempts, he was sometimes easy to read by those who spent enough time with him and Laxus qualified easily. Indeed, what he said was true. Lately, his days were less vexing and nights calmer. Dreams came easier and instead of his usual nightmares, he dreamed of distant lands that he read about as young lad. Golden shores with white city on it and sapphire sea that crashed on the sandy beach… that is how he imagined heaven. Ominous perhaps, but it calmed him to just think about it.

"Just that?" He asked.

"Well, that and the fact cheff said you were actually eating full portion of your rations instead of taking few bites." He stopped to chuckle, watching Jellal's expression turn again from stern to mildly smiling. "Mind if I ask, captain?"

"What is it mister Dreyar?"

"Well unless you started enjoying daily torment of Dragneel, there must be a reason why we are constantly in full effect. Are we expecting trouble?"

"We are always expecting trouble mister Dreyar." Jellal commented.

"Someone in particular?" Laxus asked. His head turned and his eyes looked up as man at crow's nest began shouting.

"Ship sighted, to starboard!"

"Her." Jellal added and walked over to the side of ship, taking spyglass that Laxus gave him as they were reaching railing. "Took you long enough…" Captain added in silent tone as he observed carefully ship on far horizon.

"Titania?" Laxus asked, calm but inside his stomach a small knot formed. Captain said nothing and instead he continued looking through the spyglass.

"Miss McGarden!" Captain shouted and petite reader ran over to his side "Have you had good sleep last night?"

Question confused her. She briefly looked up at Laxus who was just as confused but gave a nod as encouragement to answer.

"Yes sir." Levy replied in quick manner.

"Breakfast was to your liking?"

"Yes, sir." She answered, making a pause between two words.

"I take it mister Redfox wasn't too much of a brute. He tends to shout a lot during repairs and I presume he isn't as loud during his… alone time with you."

Levy blushed, looking away for brief moment. Laxus cleared his throat and frowned, even he wasn't sure where are these questions coming from. Bluenette mustered bit of courage to answer, knowing fully well that ship rules strictly prohibited relations during sailing.

She stuttered "Y-yes… s-sir."

"Good." Jellal added and folded spyglass "Then I am assuming you are feeling in your full effect and you will use that to predict winds for the next half hour." He took out his compass, intricate in design with silver casing and engraved anchor on the lid. First, he opened the lid, looking at the red needle that pointed toward north and then gave it to Levy. "As accurately as possible."

"Yes, captain." She said and took her glasses and book.

"Mister Fullbuster!" He shouted and dark-haired officer came close to him "We are having slight changes in our plan. Take three crewmen and tie all cargo below deck. When I give you to signal, be ready to move cargo. Mister Fuss!" He shouted and looked up "Unfold mains to skysails, leave foresails as they are!"

He moved toward the helm and just stood beside, holding his hands against wooden railing to prevent himself from falling. Entire ship jerked as sails unfolded and wind rushed into them. He waited patiently for his reader to finish job. Laxus was confused. He trusted captain implicitly and never doubted his judgment but his expression was unusually calm, not even serious as it can be, just calm. There weren't many instances when he showed this kind of face and it worried him. Cold, calculating man was always present when trouble was on horizon and this unusual calmness made Laxus nervous. Levy finally approached Jellal and gave him compass and her book. He looked, studying numbers she just wrote in.

"Are you certain about this?"

"Ninety percent, captain." She answered.

"I need more than ninety percent. Do it again." He responded and gave her book back along with compass. She wasn't used to repeating this process; usually he trusted her first estimate. This made quartermaster even more nervous but he remained silent. Not wanting to doubt someone who pulled them through dozens of battles where every other captain would've already been welcoming cold embrace of sea's depths. He turned head, looking toward the horizon where used to be tiny dot. Now, that dot seemed a lot bigger.

Levy returned, nervous as she handed book and compass to Jellal.

"Estimate?" He asked.

"Ninety five percent, captain." She replied, feeling his piercing gaze "I cannot go higher than that, winds shift, captain."

"Ninety five will suffice." Jellal smiled and moved over to helm, taking it firmly. Captain rarely did this, saving moments of taking over the helm only when doing something extremely reckless or when room for error was non-existent. He moved his shoulders and coat fell off from his shoulders and into hand, soon to be properly worn and buttoned up to the very collar.

"Do you think they spotted us?" Laxus asked.

"If they haven't they will soon." Jellal said in calm tone, turning the wheel.

* * *

Scarlet captain was sitting inside her office aboard the ship. She was annoyed. Not only she found Jellal but he was also within arm's reach… and yet he escaped, now fully aware who she is and of her mission. In truth, she knew he would've found out one way or another, there is no doubt about it. Common pirates and runaway privateers would often make a mistake of engaging her in open conflict, be it on sea or land… But Jellal is different. She knew that, she has read his entire file, from earliest moments of his documented life right down to his last raid on sea. Man like that, man decorated more than anyone has been decorated in history of Fiore, who achieved more in ten years than others could only dream in lifetime… a man like that wouldn't fall for tricks and petty provocations.

She took a sip from her tea, still going over the list that contained of his biography as if reading it again would reveal something she missed, some detail, some clue that she could use against him. Orphan with no known blood relatives who joined as soon as he was legally able to serve on the ship… no one she could at least use as leverage against him. Entire life he had, all accomplishments and victories left the day he defected, leaving Council with nothing but a name and stacks of papers.

Her hand reached up and rubbed tired eyes, pondering over and over how she would catch him alive. That encounter in port… it was disgrace and she felt strong motivation to never it happen again. She felt the need to capture him alive, now more than ever.

Her eyes looked up as she heard knock on the door and she said in loud voice "Enter."

A moment later and blonde quartermaster entered cabin, saluting her captain "We spotted the ship, nine nautical miles to the south."

Erza returned her gaze down at papers "His Majesty's flag?"

"No, ma'am. They raised black flag up high." This caught Erza's attention and she looked up at Lucy "Brig class, possibly Dark Fairy."

Scarlet captain placed down papers and took her hat and sword, walking outside of the cabin, closely followed by her quartermaster. She climbed up the wooden stairs and took out spyglass, inspecting the distant ship. Briefly, she lowered spyglass, allowing her quartermaster to see deep frown before looking through spyglass again.

"They are not running away." Erza said, sounded more like question than statement she intended it to be.

"Ma'am?"

"Wind is favorable; they should be opening all sails and escaping. Ship is turned sideways…" Erza concluded, questioning this unusual situation. Indeed a ship with wind in their backs would be running away but they are not, Dark Fairy not only is traveling to the east, but only main sails were unfolded.

"Orders?" Lucy asked

"We do what we are ordered to do. Sound the bell, we are chasing them."

"Understood."

* * *

"Captain, you know I trust you…" Laxus said in normal tone, standing by Jellal who was still behind the helm, directing the ship.

"I do, and I am grateful for your continuous trust in my decisions, mister Dreyar." Jellal said in monotone voice, though not intending to sound sarcastic as it actually did appear to be.

"That being said…" quartermaster continued "They seem to be closing in on us, are you certain we can win this?"

"This is not about winning mister Dreyar." Captain added, delivering his usual cryptic messages that sometimes even Laxus had difficulty deciphering "Mister Fullbuster, what is the status of cargo?"

"All done, captain!" Gray added, shouting from across the deck.

"Mister Dragneel, up on the mast and be ready to unfold Fairy."

"Aye, cap'n!" Natsu nodded and began climbing the ratlines. Jellal's eyes fell down on his compass and then up toward the skies. Slight frown appeared on his face, lips pressed tight for brief moment.

"Mister Redfox!" He shouted and ten seconds later bulky carpenter climbed up on the deck "I have a rather dangerous task for you and it requires your keen eye. I want you to be on the deck and be very observant when it comes to ship we are to pass by."

Laxus was still perplexed. Words expressing trust were as true as they can be but that never once made him concerned. Captain Fernandes always had few aces up in his sleeve but those aces included plans and stunts that no other captain of Royal Navy would dare to pull. Reckless, dangerous, insane… but calculated and effective. He watched him carefully, recorded every move he made no matter how small it was. He was looking up and down, left hand holding helm tight as he nervously waited. What was he waiting for? Look on the other side, ship was approaching fast. Titania was no more than four nautical miles from them. Captain did nothing. His attention was fixed on skies, only briefly looking at compass.

Three miles.

"Captain?" Laxus asked worriedly.

"Yes, mister Dreyar?" Captain's attention has been caught but not once did he stop looking toward the skies.

"Do you think Titania has forward cannons?"

"Most likely."

Knot in Laxus's stomach was now clenching even more. Tighter and tighter… He never showed it once and he won't show it now but he was nervous. Throughout history of their service, be it Royal Navy, be it with pirates, every single battle they waged was carefully planned, calculated and most importantly… shared. Jellal appreciated and practiced precision right down to smallest of details and that allowed them to even dare go after ship of the line. That little detail called "plan" and element of surprise granted them victories that were won before they even started. But now…

Two miles.

Whatever Jellal is planning is probably something that would be borderline insanity. He followed him this far, it would be foolish to doubt him now.

Flag on the mast stopped waving and Jellal's lips moved, small trembling that Laxus noticed. He wasn't afraid… no… he is counting. Eyes squinted and lips moved more frantically, silently chanting words "come on" over and over.

One mile.

Flag flickered and began flying again. Captain smiled and closed his compass, placing it into pocket. His hands pulled wheel to the left, facing Titania.

Jellal began shouting orders "Mister Dreyar, sound the bell! Unfold fore-sails!"

Bell rang and crew was moving to their positions. Laxus returned to captain and stood beside him, arms folded as they watched Titania approach them, now faster than before. He grinned, he smiled, he laughed. Wind that was blowing from their starboard was now blowing into their backs, pushing them toward Titania.

"This is what you were planning, captain?" He asked "It won't be easy to board Titania… sinking it will be harder."

"We won't do that, mister Dreyar." Jellal said, confidence was practically bleeding from him "We are just going to dance with her a little bit."

Dark Fairy was moving fast, cutting waves with such ease as if they were afraid to pose any challenge to her. Tension rose and with it came excitement… crew began shouting, cheering as Fairy was rushing to Titania's port side. Everything pointed toward the start of naval combat.

She is large one, impressive. Marvel of nautical engineering, proud, strong, and ready to defy anyone who challenges her. King's flag flew high. They will hurt her pride now.

"Now! To the left!" Jellal shouted. Underneath the deck four men leaned on the tied crates and barrels, pushing them to the far end of the haul. Captain turned wheel fast to same direction, using the weight and change of wind to bring Fairy to Titania's starboard side. They wouldn't expect that but they won't need long to pull out cannons. Ships were passing side by side.

"Fire!" Jellal shouted and first barrage of barrels flew toward Titania. He turned wheel to the right as soon as they passed Man-o-war. Titania began turning along. Predictable.

"Fold! Topsails, topgallants, royals!" He ordered and kept holding the wheel. It was all clear to Laxus now as he watched in small degree of awe. Two ships were turning, Fairy just out of Titania's cannon reach. Dead angle. Marvelous.

Jellal smiled, looking to the side. "Hold her steady!" order came intended to Laxus and quartermaster took over the helm, holding same position of the ship. _A dance, he said_.

Captain approached the railing, looking up where Erza was standing.

"That is a nice behind you have!" He yelled, letting her see the smile on his face. Rest of the crew laughed at his remark, much to Erza's displeasure.

"Is this how former admiral fights?" Erza asked.

"You are four times my size, five times as many cannons! I have to fight smart!"

"I will give you one chance to surrender! You cannot escape!"

"I can say the same for you!"

"Nonsense!" Erza shouted. Slight worm of doubt grew inside her stomach. _What is he planning? Surely he wouldn't just do this if he didn't have a plan_.

"Your call!" Jellal shouted again and moved toward the helm, taking it back. "Mister Dreyar, take two barrels and bring them up, when I give the order throw them overboard toward Titania."

"Understood." Laxus nodded and rushed bellow the deck, leaving Jellal to continue this unusual dance. Titania changed course, now turning to its left side, attempting to get a clear shot at Fairy. Brig began turning to left, leaving its stern on clear sight. Cannons roared and iron balls flew toward Fairy. Three hits, all in the hull, one almost hit main mast. Laxus returned with two more sailors, bringing two barrels up on the deck.

Up on the main mast, Natsu looked toward Titania's deck, looking for a particular blonde sailor and much to his pleasure, she noticed him. Height was perfect, standing only several meters higher than Titania's deck, holding firmly onto the ropes.

"Ahoy, pretty lady!" Natsu shouted, waving over to her. It was impossible for her to not notice considering he was shouting as loud as he could, bringing attention of majority of the crew present on the deck. She wanted to shoot him.

"I didn't caught ya name last time!" He shouted again, leaning his body to the side, holding rope tight. Lucy kept chanting silently for him to fall down… a prayer left unanswered.

"Tell ya what! If I make it ou' of this live, hows about we meet without ye wantin' to shoot me ass eh?! And speakin' of me ass!" He turned, back pointed toward Titania. His torso bowed forward "Oy! Red cap'n! Hows about ya kiss ME ass!"

Erza showed her teeth, angry to the very core of her bones. Had she a pistol within her reach she would've shot him. Lucy, on the other hand, had couple of pistols but kept it silent, not wanting to admit that Natsu's "butt wiggle" was rather comedic, even more so as he almost fell from the mast… twice.

"Mister Dreyar, we are going to let her step on our toes, be ready." Jellal said and turned wheel again. Ships were now moving side by side, facing opposite directions. "Brace for impact!" Jellal shouted and entire crew on the deck ducked, holding onto the nearest stable object. Titania's cannons roared again, this time causing a lot more damage to the ship. Mast and sails are intact… _good_.

"Throw the barrels!" He ordered as they passed by Titania. "Full sails! Mister Dragneel, unfold the Fairy!" He shouted and hot-tempered sailor grabbed rope, jumping down from the mast. Black sails filled up with wind and Fairy was sailing as fast as she can go.

"They are not turning." Laxus commented.

"They will once they figure out barrels are empty." Jellal added, taking off his hat, wiping sweat from his forehead. "Mister Redfox, assess the damage of our ship, we shall join you below the deck in a minute."

"Any particular reason for this unusual tactic?"

"I needed to know Titania's capabilities. Speed, strength, how fast she turns and how many cannons she has. Sooner we have that info, more likely we are to survive in the future. Come." Jellal beckoned and Laxus followed. They headed below the deck.

"And what have you found?"

"We are faster and we are more agile." Jellal said as he approached Gajeel who was already removing damaged planks and placing new ones. "In every other aspect, Titania is far more superior. Mister Redfox, how are we holding?"

"Jus' some hull damage cap'n." Gajeel grunted, speaking from corner of his mouth as other corner held nails "One cannon bent bu' I can fix tha' "

"Excellent, now tell me what you saw."

Ya ain't gonna like it." Gajeel commented and Jellal frowned.

"I also do not like it when you are trying to have intercourse with miss McGarden below the deck in hope I won't hear it. I shall survive. Now, report."

Gajeel placed nail on the plan and hit it hard. Nail went in completely in that one, single blow. Carpenter stood up and looked around again, trying to see if water could be leaking in somewhere. It seemed to be good.

"Forty five cannons on port side, probably jus' as many on other side. We didn't do shit, cap'n."

"Explain." Laxus ordered. Gajeel let out another grunt before folding his arms.

"Means we could've emptied our entire stock a' them and we'd still do jack shit. Steel beam's cap'n, reinforced hull and the wood… I dunno wha' they used but balls ain't gettin' through. Just three went in and none is even close t' bein' serious damage."

"We'll lose open conflict then?" Laxus asked, looking at Jellal. Captain took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, pondering on this newly developed situation.

"Not necessarily. We know what they can do and we will have to change our tactics." His hand rubbed his chin and then moved up to his eyes. There is much to ponder on and right now he needed a few moments alone.

"Course, captain?" Laxus asked, eyes following captain who headed toward wooden stairs.

"0-7-0. Continue with repairs and wake me up if you spot any ship." Jellal concluded and walked up and toward his cabin.

"Damage report!" Erza shouted angrily. She was absolutely livid, rage poured from every pore of her skin. Hands clenched wooden railing as she watched Dark Fairy is slowly but surely eluding their grasp. She was tricked again, humiliated. A single brig managed not only to spin her around but also toyed with her, pulled strings for own pleasure. _That was the plan_. Lucy returned to Erza's side, waiting for full minute for captain to calm down before reading report. She was not used to seeing Erza like this.

"Minimial. Three cannonballs pierced haul, no substantial damage. One hour until all damage is repaired." She looked toward horizon, image of pirate with pink hair still in her head. She hated admitting it… but it was rather funny. Focus Lucy she snapped and looked toward Erza. "Shall we chase them?"

"No. We underestimated their capabilities and that already cost us too much." Erza said, teeth gritted hard. Lucy wanted to point out that damage was minor but she remembered. It wasn't Titania who was hurt most, it was Erza's pride. Two times they faced each other, two times Jellal escaped. For Erza… that is two times too much.

"We sail for Red Iris. Council will expect report and we are yet to find officer who served on Oathkeeper."

"Understood, ma'am." Lucy saluted and moved toward helm, transmitting orders to helmsman. Scarlet captain moved back to her quarters, mentally exhausted from this encounter. Never before has she been under more pressure than now. In her lifetime, she sank over fifteen brigs, better equipped, larger crew… Naval crew. Trivial task… but not this one.

Her pupils widened and brows furrowed. His words emerged on surface. _Nice behind?_ _Was that intended for Titania?_ She became self-conscious all of a sudden. Head turned, left arm lifted and eyes gazed down at her own behind. _Could he be…?_

 _Absurd!_

Her gaze straightened up and she moved toward her desk. She was alone but that didn't stop her from adjusting her uniform, pulling edge of coat down as much as possible but alas, naval coats for female officers were never designed to reach further than waist. Erza quickly sat down on her chair, leaning back with arm over her eyes and cheeks.

 _Absurd…_


	7. Tricks, deals and girls of dreams

**A/N: 6 months between two updates... I should be ashamed of myself... As extra, if it is of any consolation, here is longer chapter in order to soothe your raging anger for this delay.**

* * *

"I see it!" Natsu shouted down from the crow's nest, voice loud and cheerful, followed by laughter "Land ahoy!"

Small Island soon appeared on horizon for those on deck to see. Glorious sight for those on the ship. Even captain felt small relief in his stomach as he approached bow of the ship. Slight grin manifested on his lips as he could finally begin to harbor one particular thought… Rest. Natsu was quick to climb down from the cursed nest only to stand on the wooden railing, shouting from the bottom of his lungs "Freedom!"

"Shut up!" Gray shouted in return, hoping that pink-haired sailor would fall off the ship and into the sea.

"Bite me!" Natsu retorted, not losing a single sliver of his enthusiasm "Relax will ya? Finally after who knows how long we get t'dock in real land of opportunities! Right Cap'n?"

He wasn't wrong, even captain Jellal had to admit from time to time Natsu had a point… but he said nothing and just watched as the island appeared larger and larger with their approach. Island itself was small by continental standards, shaped like crescent moon and coral reefs surrounding it with cliffs steep on all of the sides reaching from one tip to another. If one would want to approach it, he would have to go straight between two tips and see only beach that island has. Right there, laying on the beach, was a town and a large dock, rivaled only by those of King's ports. One way to reach it, one way to leave it and throughout the entire trip one ship would be closely followed by ten towers on each side, built on the rocks that emerged from the sea with at least two guns on each. Last true bastion of all 'opportunists' in these seas.

It wasn't always like this. Before it became synonym for freedom and debauchery, island was deserted, marked by Kingdom as 'nothing useful on it'. Indeed, that was true. Other than few species of games to hunt and fresh water, this island had no real significance. That all changed when first of the pirates turned against the crown, dubbed as 'rogues' and 'scoundrels' and 'cutthroats' of the worst kind. But the truth is, only a handful were really like that.

Living in Fiore is a paradise. It is a land of opportunity to prosper, to achieve your dreams and surrender to hedonism. All you had to do to achieve this… is to have money. For everyone else, life was far less forgiving. Kingdom of Fiore waged wars for the good part of this century, keeping the status quo enough to impose taxes but not enough to win it. Some say, Royal Navy couldn't muster enough ships to finally win the naval war against Kingdom of Veronica… others say that it was kept like that, perpetually rotating between attacking and defending only so it can continue to impose taxes. Depression hit hard. Honest man could just barely afford enough for himself and family. At good age of eighteen, young man would be drafted, thrown into the boots of the ground-pounders or salty docks of one of His Majesty's Ships. Four years to serve, not a day less. Only after those four years would pass, he could return home… either with a medal or with a folded flag. That is the life of regular man. Achieving more than that? Well, that was a challenge and among those rather bleak chances, first of the black sails rose. Criminals? Yes. Cutthroats? Yes. Bloodthirsty brigands that only sought chaos and murder? No. It never reached that point. All they ever wanted was better life than one that was handed to them and for that they went over the line and dared to live free, live as they see fit. To take from life all that they could.

They rose… one after another black sails began to appear until they realized that they cannot rely on free ports to rest. Twenty captains gathered and decided to 'liberate' a land from Kingdom and take it as their own 'free republic'. For that, they picked one island that Kingdom shunned but didn't quite liked having it taken from its bosoms. Black Orchid Lagoon… that is how they named it. First true free port and it was everything they could ever dream for . Only one way to reach its beach and on it they built towers, mounted cannons to ensure no ship other than those they allow would pass through. Of course, Kingdom didn't like it and they decided to take it back and crush this little rebellion once and for all. They would soon regret that decision.

Admirals of His Majesty's Navy were furious… twenty ships sunk and other twenty sent with tails between their legs. If it were up to them, they would've sent rest of the Navy but they had enough sanity in their heads to stop this plan before it could be made into action. To try again is to risk losing more ships and they do not come cheap. Losing more means leaving ports open to any invader to freely plunder or land as they see fit. They abandoned idea of retaking this island, leaving it in the hands pirates. They couldn't have guessed just how creative they would be with it. Instead of government, all was handled by 'volunteers'. Whenever something of importance to the island and the port would come up, all captains interested would gather to discuss. Plan was presented and those who wished to participate would step forth. Those who didn't want would just step aside. No one could be forced into anything and they took great pride in this liberty. There was only one rule that all had to obey. No one was allowed to enter combat with another ship within the docks or three nautical miles from the tips of the island. Those who did were sunk by the cannon-towers. No questions asked, no warning given.

As mentioned before, they were scoundrels and raiders, there were no questions about it, but far from the fact that they shot first and asked questions later. Not at all, in fact, any captain could sail into the port providing that he obeyed this one law. In the town he could find all sorts of pleasure provided, for a price, along with unique services that no other port could provide. For a bag of jewels, one could hire a ship or two to do anything he wanted and most often it was escort service. Money was motivation for everything and if paid well… they would battle Davy Jones himself. And the town itself? As merry as it can be, friendly to everyone who wishes to spend jewels. All that… was Black Orchid Lagoon.

Dark Fairy was frequent visitor of the port. Often they would return here when they wanted to stay out of the Royal Navy's sight. Today was no exception. They needed a good, long rest and captain needed to carefully plan out how to deal with Titania and its beautiful captain. As soon as they docked, crew dispersed, each going to points of their own interest, leaving captain and his quartermaster alone on the deck.

"Quite the sight, isn't it?" Laxus said in low tone, directed to captain who stood right beside him.

"Indeed it is." Jellal responded in equally low tone.

"Orders?"

"We rest. We might stay here for some time so I suggest you make most of it mister Dreyar." Jellal smiled at him as he disembarked the ship. Crew was given three days to spend their hard-earned shares as they see fit and possibilities were limitless. As for Captain... he preferred to keep his share for Fairy. On fourth day he headed to one place he knew would ease his mind regardless in what mess it was left in. Doors of the tavern opened and he entered, taking a moment to carefully observe the patrons. They merely glanced at him, few nodded to him while others didn't even bother to do that much. Navy blue uniform meant nothing here… hell… they've seen more than enough of it. Half of them are deserters. He made his way to one of the empty tables and sat on it, cleaning his side of the table from some bread crumbs that previous patrons left there. Girl, not older than thirty years dressed in white and brown dress, approached him.

"What can I get you?"

"Good afternoon, Margaret." Jellal responded in polite tone, keeping his manners in high standard as always "Do you still serve wine from Blue Pegasus winery?"

"You are the only one who orders it." She remarked, smiling down at him.

"Well lucky me there will not be shortage then." He added, returning the smile. "One glass, thank you."

A minute later, she returned with glass of light red wine, almost resembling Erza's hair. He pondered, looking at the wine through the glass. Erza Scarlet. It was not a common sight for girl to become captain of the Ship of the line. Brigs… yes… but the warship of that caliber never once had a female captain throughout history of Royal Navy. It intrigued him, having to wonder what sort of training she had, how many palms she had to grease in order to become captain of it. Maybe it wasn't the bag of coin, maybe, just maybe, she went down the road he did and proved herself by surviving against overwhelming odds. Maybe… if things were different…

"Well if it ain't my good friend cap'n Siegrain." Man said in cheerful voice and sat on opposite end of the table, making Jellal snap out of his thoughts. He was about his height, black hair and short, black beard, sporting a leather coat with long collar.

"Good afternoon, Reginald." Jellal responded, eyeing man across the table.

"Come on cap'n, we've been friends for long time now. Please, just Reggie." He chuckled.

"Not long enough." Jellal added, bringing glass to his lips, taking a sip of the wine "What do you want?"

"Just stopped by to see how ya doin'… Saw your ship when it docked. Still refusing to get better one?"

"It has sentimental value." Jellal said in cold tone.

"Of course it does. But hey, I ain't here t'judge."

"Then why _are_ you here, Reginald?"

Reginald's voice lowered, as if he wanted to avoid being heard by patrons that already barely admitted existence of those two "I have a wee proposition for you. Quite easy job and pay is better than you can get from the board." Reginald smirked, nodding toward the large board at the far side of the tavern. On it, people could post requests for services and those interested would take the request and find the owner of it. That is how most of them acquired jobs on this island and there were numerous such boards spread throughout the town.

"Not interested." Jellal responded with sharp tone, sending a glare at the man.

"Hold on, no need to make rush decisions… you haven't even heard what I'm offering."

"Last time you offered me a job I lost seven men."

"Look, I admit it was my mistake but I couldn't have guessed sirens would be by that reef."

Jellal continued, voice showed signs of anger "And before that, my ship nearly sank when I decided to help you escort your tinderbox."

"Tha' could've been me too…"

"Except you ran away the moment sea got calm while we had to escape the Kraken." He sighed deeply, regretting the fact he brought that memory up in his mind.

"Who could predict it would be there?" Reginald defended himself from Jellal's accusations "How about, you just hear me out and then decide if you want it or not?"

"Alright." Jellal responded, taking another long sip from the glass "I will hear you out and then toss you out."

"About a week ago we got a reliable information tha' a certain treasure fleet set sail to Fiore. Some kind of peace offerin' or like that. One of the ships got separated and got hit by bad weather, stranded on one of the islands." He leaned a bit forward, trying to be as close as possible to Jellal but captain didn't move one bit. "Rumor has it, nothin' but gold and rare spices are on board."

"What makes you think it is still filled with it?" Jellal asked.

"Cause no one knows. Mhm mhm. Pretty confidential but I have my sources. I figure… we have about five more days till word spreads and Navy goes to investigate."

"Alright, so what do you want from me?"

"I give you coordinates where it's now and you go and get whatever they were carryin'. We split fifty-fifty."

"And why are you not going after it yourself?" Jellal continued with questions. He skeptical and didn't bothered hiding it.

"Cause my boat ain't in sailin' condition." Reginald leaned back, crossing his arms "Got hit by a… nasty navy warship, tore my hull apart. Barely made way here and I won't be leavin' port for weeks. But I know you can squeeze through Navy patrols and reach the ship. Whatever you find in it, half is yours."

"Your story has many holes. For one, if treasure fleet lost one ship they would return for it. No admiral in right mind would allow for such important cargo to be left unguarded."

"I ain't sayin' they aren't going for it… but it might take some time t' find it. Alright alright… how about I sweeten the deal hm?"

"And how will you do that?" Jellal asked with exasperated voice, believing less and less in the story that Reginald was trying to sell him.

"You bring the cargo… and I'll give you tell where _she_ is." Man winked, instantly grabbing Jellal's full attention "I know you are looking for _her_."

"How would you know that? Who told you that information?"

"I have my sources. You bring me cargo and I'll tell you in what port _she's_ sleepin'."

Jellal bit his lower lip, his fingers began to frantically tap on the wooden surface of the table. His eyes were fixed on Reginald and brows furrowed. He is lying, he must be lying and it would be neither first nor last time but Jellal was desperate. He needed to know where _she_ is. Crew was ready by the end of the day and on the first light of the next day they opened their sails and left the port of Black Orchid. Crew didn't complain much. They had their rest, spent well-earned shares and were already itching for more. Greedy? A little bit, yes but more than that, they wanted to earn as much as they can and retire while they are still young… few yearned to forever sail the seas of Earthland. None complained, none but two.

"Reginald." Said Laxus as he stood beside Jellal, looking forward.

"Indeed." Jellal responded.

"Reginald." Laxus repeated.

"Yes, mister Dreyar, Reginald."

"Reginald." Laxus said yet again and this time he managed to draw Captain's look toward him "THE Reginald."

"I am aware what you are trying to say."

"With all due respect, Captain, since when do we trust Reginald? Need I remind you of all the 'schemes' he lured us into only to almost end up sunk and about to meet eternal grace of Davy Jones."

"I never said I trusted him."

"Then why are we helping him?" Laxus asked as he turned toward Jellal, eyes still revealed tone of confusion "If it were up to me I would've-"

"I need to know where _she_ is."

"We are still looking for her?"

"We never stopped, mister Dreyar." Captain took deep breath and slowly exhaled. He hoped that voyage to the mentioned spot would be clear, preferably without any incidents.

"Ships sighted!" Natsu yelled from crow's nest and all Jellal's hopes fell into the water.

"How many, mister Dragneel?" Jellal asked as he walked over to the railing, taking out spyglass from his belt.

"Three cap'n!" Natsu yelled, leaning over crow's nest in such angle to give Gray a hope he just might fall over and spread across the deck. Jellal observed carefully as ships slowly approached.

"Orders, captain?" Laxus asked.

"None is ship of the line. Mister Dragneel, let King's flag fly!" Jellal shouted "All men fix your clothes and tongues!"

"We are going to go past them?" Laxus asked and Jellal nodded.

"It is safe to say they spotted us so we shall not run. They will think we are merchants and we shall pass by."

Jellal folded his spyglass and went to his cabin, taking off his navy uniform and picking brown one. To sail with admiral's uniform is invitation to be arrested. There was one more thing to be done. He pulled out sword from the scabbard and ran the blade across his left palm, letting the scarlet liquid flow from it. He watched it… that color… it reminds him, brings him memories. He snaps out of the daydream and picks a gauze from the table rubbing blood against it before he wraps it around his eye, covering the marking across it. Another piece is tied around the palm, tied tightly using right hand and his teeth and hid well with pair of gloves.

Bell rang and he leaves his cabin. His crew already looks 'presentable'. All wear white shirts and whatever pieces of clothing they prefer over it. Laxus and Gray have hid their uniforms and have took more 'regular' clothing. He looks at both of them and nods… they know what to do and how to behave.

"They're signalin' us cap'n!" Natsu shouted.

"Fold sails!" Jellal orders "Bring Fairy to full stop!"

Within ten minutes ships approach. Hooks are thrown and Fairy pulled toward Naval warship, enough for plank to connect them and captain of the warship to cross over. To complete his makeover, Jellal adorns something rare few see… a big smile.

"Good afternoon." He says.

"You are the captain of the ship?" Officer asks. Man in his forties, brown hair with few scars across the face and square jaw. He seems to have seen better days but he holds himself well, stance rigid and voice stern, commanding.

"Aye, sir." Jellal responds, still smiling wide.

"Your papers." He commands and Jellal pulls several papers from his pocket. Captain opens them and inspects everything, every single detail.

"Captain Henry Summerson?" He asks and Jellal nods "What's with your eye?" He asks. Jellal looks at him for a moment and points at the bandage to which captain nods.

"Bar fight. Small disagreement on the… price."

"Where are you heading?"

"Southern Islands." Jellal quickly responds "We are traders."

"What is it that you trade with?" Officer asks again and eyes look around deck of Dark Fairy. He is suspicious but there is nothing he can pick that would draw his attention. Crew looks dirty but then again most merchants do.

"Spices. Sugar, salt, ginger, nutmeg. Whatever we can find for good price we buy and sell at free ports."

"Free ports you say…" Captain asks and begins pacing around the deck, followed closely by four of his men, fully armed "You had any trouble with local pirates?"

Jellal let out a small chuckle "Always, sir."

"Mind if we inspect your cargo?" He turns to look at Jellal. Tone is familiar. It is not question it is statement. Regardless what Jellal says they will go under the deck.

"By all means." Was the answer that was given. Expected. Naval officers move down, under the deck and begin inspecting crates, one by one. Nothing seems to grabs their attention. Crates are many but all are empty… it is expected from traders.

"Those are nice cannons you have." Captain says as he moves toward one of them. It doesn't take him long to recognize magical mediums.

"Three seasons worth of trade… we had run ins with pirates four time this year alone."

"I can understand that." Captain nods slightly and hands Jellal papers that he received. With hand he signals for his men and they move upstairs again, walking toward the plank that connects two ships "Everything seems to be in order. Be mindful of the pirates. Good sail to you."

"And to you as well." Jellal smiles wide and bows head politely. Plank is withdrawn, sails unfolded and warships resume their voyage, oblivious. If only they have known who they just inspected…

"Hell of an act, captain." Laxus remarked.

"Perhaps but this answers something more important." Jellal said in his usual serious tone, losing the smile that he wore. "Miss McGarden, how long until designated spot?"

"Hour of sail with best winds." She responded.

"Mister Dreyar, I am absolutely certain that we have not been told the truth."

"And that surprises you, captain? Has there ever been truth with Reginald?" Laxus asked, voice filled with sarcasm. No answer came. For the rest of the trip, Jellal was unusually quiet. One thought came after another, each time trying to figure out a way out of this but each time failing. He didn't want to admit it out loud… but to a small degree, he was even scared. Whatever is waiting for them is soon to be revealed.

"Land sighted!" Natsu yelled from his position on crow's nest and immediately Jellal walked over to the bow of the ship. He waited long for them to approach before he took out spyglass and on the beach he spotted the ship.

"There it is…"

"And the ship?" Laxus asked.

"Stranded on the beach." He took deep breath and slowly exhaled, speaking in low tone to himself "What are you up to Reggie?"

They approached island as much as they could, traveling rest of the distance in boats. Ship looked damaged. Mast broken, several holes in hull and sails ripped… but there were no people. No corpses, no signs that anyone was on the beach. Suspicion grew ever deeper in Jellal. So many holes in story it practically screamed "This is a trap".

"Mister Dreyar, mister Fullbuster" Jellal turned to face them "Take men and search the cargo, whatever you find, take it and get out. I intend to stay as little as possible on this island."

Both officers saluted and took seven men that came on boats with them, leaving captain to be on the lookout. Personally, he would want to be there, to see what is inside but he became paranoid. Minutes later voices came from the broken hull.

"We found it captain!" Gray shouted while rest of men dragged chests from below the deck and slowly let them down on the beach using ropes. From the look of it, they seemed to be very heavy.

Seven chests, all same, all with iron locks and no key in sight. As per captain's order, they loaded them onto the boats, one at the time and transported back on the Dark Fairy, returning for rest until all chests and crew were aboard the Fairy.

"No key?" Jellal asked and as answer he received wave from Laxus. Now all he needs to do is to bring them back to Black Orchid Lagoon and take half of it. It is that easy…

"Mister Redfox!" Jellal suddenly called "Do your magic."

"With pleasure cap'n!" Carpenter smiled wide taking his 'small' hammer. He measured locks, inspected each of them with great interest. Nothing too complex. Hammer grew in size and he smashed all locks. Crew looked in anticipation. Who knows what could be inside. Jellal pushed the heavy lid open, revealing content. Crew was in awe and all had smile from ear to ear. All seven chests had same thing… gold bars.

"We are rich…" One of the crew said "We are bloody rich!"

Everyone cheered, everyone laughed for this much gold they haven't seen in their entire lives. All smiled, all cheered… except for three. They all sighed, knowing what this means.

"Well shit…" Gray said as he leaned head back, groaning hard.

"What the fuck is your problem man?" Natsu said, completely baffled at Gray's reaction "We can retire with this and live the rest of the life like bloody kings!"

"You really did it this time Reginald…" Jellal sighed deeply. Euphoria was still too high for anyone to notice Jellal's worried expression and constant cursing but all this is about to change…

"Ship sighted!" One of the sailors yelled "Two miles!"

"How the hell did they got so close?" Laxus walked over to the railing toward the mentioned ship "Captain, that is ship of the line."

"Mister Taylor!" Jellal shouted at one who reported ship approaching "Is it King's flag?"

"No cap'n!" Sailor said after he looked through spyglass "It's white with mug on it?"

"Mug?" Laxus asked, rising both of his eyebrows up.

"The Bacchanalia." Jellal commented and closed all the chests "Everyone on your stations."

"We're gonna go past Bacchus?"

"No… but I certainly won't drop sword before him." Captain commented. This turned from bad to worse. There is one person he truly never wished to cross swords with and that is the very man who sails The Bacchanalia. Terribly tricky, impossible to predict and never without ace in his sleeve. There was only one instance when Jellal had to fight with Bacchus in the past and they barely won the skirmish, not without losses however. There was no doubt in his mind, this is all Reggie's plan. Dark Fairy slowly moved toward the large man-o-war, keeping only mainsails unfolded. Ships finally moved close to each other and hooks flew from deck of the larger one, drawing small Fairy even closer. Several men began climbing down but it was the entrance of captain himself that drew most attention. He jumped; straight from the railing of his deck and down onto Fairy's. Straightening up as if it was nothing.

"Well well well, Cap'n Siegrain!" Bacchus greeted in loud, cheerful voice "It's been too long, ain' it?"

"Indeed Bacchus." Jellal responded calmly "What brings you to these waters?"

"Well I've had a… wee bit of problem so t' speak. See I've been wanderin' around an' noticed that ye've been taking me loot."

"And just how are we taking your loot?" Laxus asked, frowning at what appears to be half-drunk captain.

"Cause these be me waters, laddie!" Bacchus chuckled "I though' tha' I've told ya this already. Wha'ever comes in water from Rose Island t' Tulip Archipelago is mine." He chuckled but soon the smile disappeared from his face "And I've spotted tha' you've taken wha' is mine."

"We are not in your waters." Jellal interjected, instantly grabbing his attention. If you call all those waters yours, going from furthest of islands… your waters start five miles from here. Technically, this is still free for anyone's taking."

Bacchus suddenly became greatly displeased. He rubbed palm one against another as he paced around the deck and tension grew among the crew.

"How did you know about this?" Jellal asked, making Bacchus turn to face him "Rose Island is ten miles away and this is furthest point. I highly doubt you just spotted the ship… someone told you about it."

"I got me sources cap'n."

"Does your source bear name 'Reginald'?" Jellal asked and Bacchus was left speechless. He didn't need to say anything, silence was all the answer Jellal needed.

"Ye… he tol' me tha' there is a ship, left unchecked, ready fo' pickin'… And what did he tell ye?"

"To take what's in the cargo hold and bring it to him. As reward, half is mine."

Bacchus suddenly began laughing "Well yer no' gonna be reachin' Bla' Lagoon anytime soon."

"You remember what happened last time we skirmished? I have twice as many cannons, three times the quality, don't threaten me, Bacchus. From this angle all your cannons will shoot over our heads but we'll make 9 holes into your hull and 9 more before you move ten meters away."

"I don' like tha' tone ye be havin', cap'n Siegrain." Bacchus remarked with angry voice "Ya can rest assured after ye've been dealt I'll be visitin' good ol' Reggie."

"Tell you what. I'll make you a better offer." Jellal said as he moved closer to him "We found seven chests, king's gold, all yours to take."

Crew on the Dark Fairy immediately began chattering. Maybe captain is up to something but to give away the gold? They began worrying.

"And ye'll be givin' them out of yer good heart?" Bacchus asked, grinning wide at Jellal.

"No. In return you will owe me a favor and you will leave Reginald to me. How does that sound?"

"Ummm… Cap'n?" Natsu interjected but was immediately silenced by Jellal and dragged by Gray to the back, further away from the two captains.

"Generous of ye cap'n. And ye'll be just givin' 'em to me?"

"It is king's gold, Bacchus. I do not have use of it… but you do."

"Alright!" Bacchus suddenly yelled, laughing along with his crewmates that were on the deck of Fairy "Ye got yerself a deal cap'n!"

Jellal extended his hand and Bacchus eagerly took it. They shook it and within minutes, all seven cases were brought on the deck of The Bacchanalia. Crew became agitated, more with each passing minute.

"Cap'n… with all due respect but what the FUCK have you done?" Natsu shouted, panting hard from the anger that was boiling in him.

"Relax, mister Dragneel. We had no use from that gold."

"What do ye mean 'no use'? We could've sold it and lived like kings and ye gave it away!" Natsu raised his voice even more. At any other instance he would've been dragged back but now… crew backed him up.

"Very well. What we found was not just gold, it was king's gold."

"And what of it? Are we gonna be now workin' with King's navy?" One of the crewmates asked.

"It means that all the bars are marked by king's sigil." Gray interjected, answering the question.

"It also means that if we were caught with it on board, we wouldn't even be given proper trial. We would be having second mouth under our chins and be thrown overboard." Laxus said as he stood beside Jellal.

"Not only that, but by the treaty between Kingdom and free ports, no shopkeeper is to receive payment in king's gold under penalty of death."

"Alright, so we melt it." Natsu added quickly.

"No one will accept it." Jellal added "They are all too afraid because if they are caught with king's gold they are going to be immediately hanged and their shops confiscated and there is no way we would be able to pass by the patrols as merchants with king's gold… for that we need very special permission issued by King himself."

"We practically would have no means to use it. Not even foreign countries will accept it." Gray said as he leaned against railing, feeling relief that chests were taken from them.

"This may not be how we expected it to be but Bacchus will owe us a favor and in his case it is more valuable than gold we have given him. Only he knows a man who is willing to melt kings gold. We traded nothing for something. That, however, leads me to ponder how seven chests of gold ended up on a ship with Royal Navy passing by and no one investigating." Jellal said as he wiped bit of sweat from his face. Heat was not the issue, it was the pressure that he suddenly felt being lifted.

"You think Reginald did this on purpose?"

"Without a doubt. How he got chests is another thing but he knew we would somehow meet Bacchus. They are known for not liking each other and he expected we would enter a combat. Regardless who wins, he will get rid of one annoyance to him. Clever rat…"

"Son of a bitch…" Laxus commented "So what do we do now?"

"Now we visit our good friend."

* * *

Doors of tavern suddenly opened with loud bang and no less than seven people entered, all heading toward the same table and none of them appeared to be pleased.

"Heeeey, cap'n Siegrain! You're back!" Reginald suddenly stood up, opening his arms wide but as soon as Jellal approached him, he pushed man down back on the chair and pressed tip of sword right under his chin.

"This has been last time you tricked me Reginald." Jellal growled as men surrounded Reggie. Gray on one side, Natsu on other, Laxus just beside Jellal and three more behind the man in question.

"What are you saying?" Reggie asked, looking around himself at all the men with deep frowns on their faces.

"King's gold. Island where patrols are as common as fish in the sea and on top of that… you sent Bacchus my way." Jellal answered as he sheathed his sword and took a chair from nearby table to sit on it, keeping his gaze fixed on Reginald. "Fortunately, he accepted my proposal and took all the gold."

The fake smile on Reginald's face disappeared as quickly as one on girls when she learned her beloved has chlamydia.

"I am sure he will know what to do with it and in the meantime he has left me to deal with you as I see fit. Now problem is, I like this locale and cutting your throat means I have to stain it with your blood… So… mister Dragneel over there" He pointed at Natsu "Is going to strangle you with rope."

"Wooo hold on cap'n, let's not be hasty!" Reginald suddenly became nervous as he looked at Natsu who had small thin rope in his hands and a smile of a certified psychopath.

"The only reason you are still alive is because you have information that I need which you will tell me, right?"

"Wha? Oh yes, of course cap'n" Reginald began squirming as Natsu began tightening rope around his own hands. Jellal simply leaned forward, gaze cold and fixed on sweating man.

"Where is Oathkeeper?"


End file.
